4th Pick on June 28 (5.24.06)

Now that the draft lottery is behind us, and we know the Trail Blazers will be selecting fourth on June 28th, we can officially start the speculation. Who will it be? The Blazers won't be the driver's seat, like they would have been if they had won the first pick, but as we have explained, it probably won't hurt them much for this draft. It doesn't appear there's a player out there the team is dead set on, and now it'll be about reacting, gathering information, and evaluating everything about the players they think will be available. In the coming days, we the broadcasters will be giving you our mock drafts, so stay tuned for that.

As you know by now, the teams with the top five selections will be Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte, Portland, and Atlanta.

Without a doubt, Toronto will be selecting Andrea Bargnani, from Italy, with the top pick. The Raptors are reportedly close to hiring Maurizio Gherardini, who was the long-time general manager of Benetton Treviso, Bargnani's team, to be their new assistant general manager. Those around Bargnani had said earlier this week that the only team Bargnani would play for is Toronto, and even threatened that he would return to Italy if any other team selected him. That probably wouldn't have turned out to be true, but he won't be faced with that decision now.

We've also talked a lot about how this was the 22nd year of the lottery, but only four times has the team with the worst record in the league (or tied for the worst) won the lottery. The Trail Blazers were that team this year. In my opinion, this current lottery system doesn't really work the way it's supposed to. But, I don't foresee any changes in the near future. The teams, and the league, have agreed that this is the best system, even with its obvious flaws. Last season, when the Blazers bucked the odds and moved up to number three we, of course, weren't complaining. It appeared to "work" just fine last season, because we were the team benefiting. But, in terms of how this thing was designed, and what the end result really should be, it's far from perfect.

The lottery was put in place in 1985, and came on the heels of the 1984 draft, which is especially memorable to those in Portland. Yes, that was the Sam Bowie-instead-of-Michael Jordan-draft. Late in that season, some were accusing the Houston Rockets of intentionally losing games late in the season in order to land the top pick in the draft. The NBA, of course, didn't like that and set out to form a new system. This lottery is what they came up with.

Most of the lottery works the way it was designed. But, it's in the top four where they've got a serious problem. The numbers speak for themselves. When the team with the worst record has only won the top pick four times in 22 years, that's not right.

I hadn't paid close attention to this in recent years, mainly because the Trail Blazers have never been in this position before. A lot of people aren't really aware of exactly how this lottery works. Yes, the Trail Blazers had a 25 percent chance to win the lottery, better odds than anyone else. But, you have to realize that the odds were actually better that the Blazers would win the number four spot than the top spot.

Before the lottery began, I ran a lottery simulator over and over and over. I ran it well over 5,000 times the day of the lottery. I ran it in shifts of 100. The Blazers hit the fourth-place slot an average of 41 times during those 100 simulation shifts, as opposed to only 26 times in the top spot. The second and third place hits were dramatically lower than the fourth and first-place slots. It was basically all or nothing. Chances were if they could get past the fourth spot, the odds favored them landing in the top spot. But, the odds were much greater that they would hit the fourth position, much greater than the other three teams they were up against.

It is kind of amazing to me that so few people really know how this lottery system works, and it wasn't until John Nash arrived home from New York that I cornered him and wanted to know exactly what he sees in the back room. He did a good job of explaining it to me, about six times. It's very interesting, and isn't really that different than the regular state lotteries. It's actually kind of like Powerball.

The one thing I really didn't know is that there are only 14 balls in the hopper when they begin selecting, and Nash told me the machine they use is just like the ones you see on TV for the state lotteries. The 14 teams in the lottery are each given different four-digit combinations. The Trail Blazers, as a result of having the worst record in the NBA, were given the most combinations. Of the 1,001 possible results, the Blazers had 250 of them. I think a lot of people are under the impression that there were actually 1,001 balls in the hopper, and 250 of them had a Blazer logo on them. At least this is how I always envisioned it. Again, there are only 14 balls in there and they are numbered 1 through 14. It's the combinations you've got to match, just like in regular lotteries.

The ping-pong balls are selected in groups of four. The first combination pulled is then matched with the team's predetermined numerical combinations. The combination is picked, and the teams quickly search their possible combinations to see if they match. As you know by now, the first winning combination was held by Toronto. They had just a nine percent chance of holding the winning combination, but they had it and won the first pick. It so happens, when the second series of balls were pulled, Toronto held that one as well. But, being they already had the top pick, that combination was discarded and they selected again. Chicago matched the second series of numbers, and Charlotte held the third. That was it. Nash then knew the Blazers would end up fourth. The fifth through the 14th positions just fell into line after that. Toronto was the one team that moved up from that combination, and that's the only reason five through 14 changed. Nash told me it only takes a few minutes to complete the whole process. Nash, and the others, who were in a separate room, then are made to surrender their cell phones and blackberry devices, and are sequestered until the announcements are made on TV.

The good news for Portland is, as we've talked about, this isn't a front-loaded draft, and many experts have projected that there really shouldn't be that much difference one through five. What it does is limit a team's options. I honestly think if the Blazers had landed the top spot they would have traded the pick. That could still happen, but it seems much more likely now that they'll use the pick to select a player who will be a Blazer. The question we'll be debating for the next five weeks is, who will it be? Again, there doesn't appear to be the can't-miss superstar in this draft, but it is very solid. In the fourth spot the Trail Blazers are going to get a solid player who should help the team right away.

The pre-draft workouts are underway around the league, and the Blazers are into this process. They are not only working out players they think will be available at number four, but are working out many more than that. Portland holds the number 30 and 31st picks in the draft as well. So, the elimination process is already underway.

We hosted a special edition of our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, during the draft lottery, and it was a huge success. Coming up on June 28, the night of the NBA Draft, we'll have another special edition of the show. Our draft show will be held this year at Outback Steakhouse in Tualatin, which is only about a mile from the Blazers practice facility. We'll be holding the party in a huge tent in the parking lot, and many more details will follow.

Lottery Talk on Courtside Monday Night (5.16.06)

As I told you last week, our Courtside Monday Night radio show continues all the way though the summer. Last night, we were joined by Blazers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard, and point guard Steve Blake. Pritchard, who usually opts to come into the studio rather than join us by phone, did that again last night. We like it because he's there with us, we can beat him up for information during commercial breaks, and can tie him to the chair and make him stay a lot longer than he intended. This was one of those nights.

Pritchard has just returned from a European scouting trip, and we heard all about it during the first hour of the program. We also talked about the NBA Draft, and the Draft Lottery, that happens next week.

Lately fans have been asking me one question more than all the others combined (okay, besides "who are the Blazers taking in the draft?") They want to know, "if the Blazers win the lottery and end up with the first pick, will they keep it or perhaps trade it for a veteran?" We repeatedly asked Pritchard that question on the show. I can tell you the team will listen to all offers, and doesn't appear tied to the pick. If another team comes with that veteran, impact player we've talked about, I think a deal could happen. As Pritchard said, time and time again, the Blazers badly need to be in that top postiion so that they have the most opportunities possible.

You can hear the entire interview with Pritchard by clicking on the link at the right of this page.

Steve Blake joined us in the second hour of the program. You can also hear that interview, if you missed it. Blake and his wife just returned from a vacation to France. It'll be an exciting summer for them, as Kristen is expecting, and is due in October. Steve told us last night they just found out on Friday they'll be welcoming a baby boy into the world. No, they're not set on any names yet. Of course, we asked that question.

t's difficult for players to mentally wind down from a season, as you can imagine, and Blake told us he has difficultly with that. The trip to France probably helped though. He said his workouts will begin now, and he doesn't wait until later in the summer like some players do. He'll continue to workout, and play, and work on his game, and will be staying in Portland this summer. That's always nice to hear. Next week's Courtside Monday Night show, will not be on Monday, but on Tuesday. We'll be live at City Sports Bar, on 4th Street in downtown Portland. Tuesday is the draft lottery, and we're inviting fans to come down and join us as we all found out together where the Blazers will be selecting. The radio show will air from 4-6pm, and hopefully we'll have a lot to celebrate. The Blazers have a one-in-four chance to land the top pick.

The pre-draft workouts will begin next week, and are already underway around the country. The Blazers will begin bringing players to Portland, and will begin tightening the screws on the evaluation process. These workouts are huge, and really are the final step in the scouting process. So much is invested in scouting, and evaluating, and the pre-draft workouts can help confirm or dismantle the final book on a player. It's an interesting process, the agents play a huge role. They'll float constant streams of information to the media, a willing and important pawn in this game. You'll hear plenty of fact and fiction, and we won't really know the whole story until draft night.

Join us next Tuesday night, when the ping pong balls drop. It's and understatement to say it's a huge night for the Trail Blazers' future.

Upcoming Events (5.08.06)

As I said in my last blog (I know, that was some time ago), these will continue throughout the summer. I haven't quite figured out if they're going to be once a week yet, and if so, what day we'll be doing them on. But, it'll be a busy summer and we'll have it all covered for you. This blog will get much more frequent around the Draft Lottery, the NBA Draft, and of course, Summer League, where I'll be doing a daily update. We've also got some other exciting stuff planned for summer league on this web site so keep checking back.

Our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, never takes any time off, as you probably know. It's always from 6pm to 8pm, on Monday nights on KXL-750 am locally, and on the Blazers Radio Network. We've also got a lot of listeners who get the show outside the area by logging on to kxl.com. If you want to get involved with the program, you can always e-mail the show at courtside@trailblazers.com. You can send your comments any time during the week and we'll try and get them on the show.

Tonight's show will be hosted by Brian Wheeler and Mike Rice. I will be in Seattle meeting with our partners at Fox Sports Northwest, and will be back on the show next week. Wheels is a more-than-capable fill in and we've got a good show lined up for you tonight. Nate McMillan, who's been out of town, returns tonight and will join the guys live, hopefully at 6:30. We'll also be talking NBA Draft with Chris Ekstrand, who wrote a great article recently on SI.com on all the European prospects. He's also the former editor of the NBA Draft Guide. He knows his stuff. Steve Jones, who's been working playoff games on ABC and ESPN, will check in at 7:30. And, there's a chance San Antonio's Brent Barry will join Wheels and Rice live. That's still up in the air, so hopefully it works out.

If you miss any of these interviews, come back to this same page on the website tomorrow morning and we'll have links to all the interviews you can hear by clicking on the right side of this screen. The man who flies the ship for us on the radio network, "The Captain," Rich Patterson, will have these interviews set for us by tomorrow. I should also mention, "Mrs. Captain," Deb Patterson, is doing a remarkable job bringing pizza to the radio studio during the show and we all hope that continues throughout the summer. This is called "plugola," by the way, normally illegal in the radio business, but we don't work for a radio station, nor are we in a union, so we can do pretty much whatever the heck we want. I'm sure that comes across on the air. How do you think Rice plays free golf all summer?

Coming up on May 23rd, we'll be moving the show to a Tuesday night, and will be live at City Sports Bar on 4th street in downtown Portland for the NBA Draft Lottery. The show will be from 4pm to 6pm, as that's when the draft order will be announced. As you probably know, the Trail Blazers have a 1 in 4 chance to land the number-one pick in the draft.

Speaking of the draft, we've got our NBA Draft special lined up. That'll be on June 28th. And, I mentioned we'll be in Las Vegas at Summer League, and not only will we have daily updates, interviews, photos, video, and more, on trailblazers.com, but we'll be hosting Courtside Monday Night on July 11th, live from the ESPNZone inside New York New York Hotel and Casino on the strip. I'll have much more on all these events in the near future, I just wanted you to get them on your calendar now. Enjoy Courtside tonight, and check back here for the interviews tomorrow.

Thanks! (4.20.06)

It's over. Now, all the talk about what's going to happen in the off-season can officially begin- all the speculation, all the mock drafts, all the trade rumors, everything.

Last night was a little bit strange. Last season I can remember being ready for the season to end. It was a relief, and I think everyone felt that. I'm sure there was some of that last night when things came to an end. But, I can't really get a handle on how I'm feeling now that things are over. I kept getting asked the question "are you ready for this season to end, or what?" I can't really say that I was. I love this team, love this franchise, love the coaches, and call me crazy, but I have this strong belief in everything connected to the Blazers. I guess I just see everything improving from here, and when that's the case, you want to get that started as soon as possible.

It'll be nice to rest up and get off the road, I will say that. As I've explained before, this 6-month season is an absolute whirlwind. We're gone so much, and are always preparing for the next game. Weekends and holidays mean nothing, and your entire life is dictated by the NBA schedule. The schedule here at the end was especially tough. I feel like we haven't been home in months. When we've been home I've been at my computer at home or at work, preparing for the next game. On the nights off we've either been traveling, doing game prep, or hosting our radio show. I actually sat down and watched a little TV at home on Tuesday night. I was telling my wife that it seems like it's been forever since I've done that.

Following the end of the season a lot of the players get away immediately. I went through the locker room last night following the game and shook a lot of hands. I know the players who are taking off right away, and I went to them first. I thanked them for their effort and asked about their plans for the off-season. Some of them are staying around for a while, or are leaving for a few days and then are coming back to relax for a few days and pack. Some of the players, as you probably know, have purchased homes here and are planning on staying here during the summer. I also wanted to thank the entire team staff, trainers, team attendants, security personnel, and P.R. people. It's always a little sad to me when it ends. You just really don't ever know whom you'll see again and whom you won't.

We, the broadcasters, get asked often what we do in the off-season. As you probably know, the radio show that Mike Rice and I host, Courtside Monday Night, doesn't take any time off. In fact, tonight we'll be hosting a special edition of the show from 6-8pm on KXL-750 in Portland, and the Blazers Radio Network. Tonight, Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will be in studio with us. We'll also have general manager John Nash on with us for at least a half-hour. The plan is to have him on from 6:15 to 6:45. Even though I talk to John all the time, I'm anxious to get his take on the season now that it's over. He was very realistic before the season started, and ruffled a few feathers, when he said he expected this team to win 20 to 25 games. Turns out he was right.

Last night was the final time you'll see Rice and I on TV for a while. We will be at the Las Vegas Summer League, and will be doing some reports for FSN, but won't be calling any games on TV until next season, of course. Even though the names probably don't mean much to you fans, I would like to publicly thank our great TV crew for all the work they put into this season. I mentioned how tough it can be to leave your family, make this commitment, and pour your entire life into an NBA season. They all do it, do most of the heavy lifting, and help Rice and I seem somewhat intelligent on the air (and that's no easy task). Our great director is Chris McMurtry. Chris is a genius in this business, and could honestly do any job in this business. His job is to call out, verbally, all of the camera shots, replays, graphics, and packages, to the technical director, John Burns. Burns sits at a huge board of switches and buttons and basically plays the piano. He rarely makes a mistake, and if you saw a modern TV board you'd wonder how he does it.

Our executive producer is Scott Zachry, who's been with the Blazers for 18 years. He is in my ear during the entire broadcast and is constantly telling me where we're going next. I rely heavily on his direction. Z tells me what's about to come on the screen, including all replays, and tells me exactly when it's coming, so it can be as seamless as possible. People always wonder how I can talk about one thing, while he is in my ear telling me something else. You just get used to it, and we know each other so well we're usually thinking the same thing anyway. It's a tricky part of broadcasting the games, and this relationship is vital to any success we have on the air (that goes for any broadcast of any sport). During commercials is when I hear from him the most. He tells me exactly what's coming up after the break, what card to read, what replays to expect, and often we just talk about the direction of the game and discuss the best way to follow it.

The associate producer is Jeff Curtin, who went to school with me at Oregon State. We did high school games together on the student TV station KBVR. Jeff is valuable at home, but is really our backbone on the road. He is part shooter, part audio guy, partly in charge of graphics, and always makes sure we have all the right equipment, and that we're using all the good stuff we gather before games and on off days. From his many years of traveling with us, he knows every NBA city incredibly well. He takes the lead in one of the vans and we just follow. I can't imagine making a road trip without him, and hope I never have to experience one without him.

Kim Anderson is the graphics coordinator, and spends most of game days loading in everything you will see on the screen in terms of graphics, stats, promotions, and player names. She's a wiz at her game and puts up with all the high pressure of the TV truck and being on the road with a bunch of dudes.

John Lukrofka just finished up his first season traveling with us full time, and now has a better idea of what it takes, and how difficult it can be. He also knows now the rewards and enjoyment that comes with it. He runs a complex piece of equipment called the EVS, or "Elvis," as it's called in the business. This machine is responsible for all the highlight packages you see, and handles most of the replays during a game. I actually don't have a clue how it works, and that's just fine with me. I wish you could all see a TV truck run during a game. It's controlled chaos, and works like an orchestra when things are going well, which hopefully they normally are.

There are so many others who work on TV games, I wish I had room to get them all in. We've got all of our photographers (not cameramen, as I've learned the hard way), audio techs, engineers, statisticians, and all the people who make sure Rice and I have what we need to broadcast games. The one guy I'd like to specifically single out is our main full-time engineer, Mike Janes. He's a computer wizard, and has to be. Bob Akamian, who's also been around the team forever, produces most of our feature pieces, and Ron Quant shoots them, cuts them, and edits them with Bob. Todd Mansfield, who is on the air with us on FSN Live, helps all of us out a ton. And, speaking of helping us out, I've got to mention "the Captain" Rich Patterson, who runs the radio network. He's been around this team for decades, and not only does he keep Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey on the air, and also runs Courtside Monday Night, but has a direct line to the truck to pass along key stats and historical facts. I don't know where we'd be on some nights without him.

These are just a few of the people who make Blazers Broadcasting run. Our man at the top of the food chain is the VP of Broadcasting Dick Vardanega, who sits in his office during games at home and on the road, watches over everything, and coordinates from the top. He is the one who went to bat for me when I was hired, so I owe him everything.

If it seems like Rice and I are close on the air, it's because we are. I spent a lot of time with him at home and on the road. Whether it's a meal, tennis, golf, or just a walk through a strange city. As I've mentioned before, he is the best-prepared analyst in the business. I know you all love him and we all love working with him. It's always an adventure and is always very fun. We lean on each other for so much it's hard to explain. He made the transition from radio to TV this season and that's not as easy as it sounds. I hope to work with him as my partner for many years to come. The last two guys I want to thank is the radio team, of Wheels and Tone. Rice isn't my only partner, and these guys are great at their jobs, and are close friends. We all spend more time together than you can imagine, and I consider them all family. I wish you could hear some of the debates and spirited conversations that go on the team plane. Those flights go by quickly with us all talking at the same time.

I could go on and on about all of these people, but I know it's probably not tremendously exciting to you. I do want to thank all of our fans, and can never do that enough. You're the best, and we couldn't do all of this without your support. If you have specific questions about anything feel free to shoot me an e-mail. My personal e-mail address is mike.barrett@trailblazers.com. If you send me a question or comment, be patient. I will get to you in time and will do my best to get you an answer to the best of my knowledge. We'll be busy this summer and so will the team. I honestly can't wait to start it all over again. Okay, maybe after I sleep for a few weeks.

Fan Appreciation Night - TONIGHT (4.19.06)

It's the final game of the season tonight for the Portland Trail Blazers, and it's Fan Appreciation Night at the Rose Garden. The Phoenix Suns are the opponent, and the Blazers have a chance to square the season series 2-2. The Suns blew out the Blazers back in December 130-85, Portland pulled the upset on March 12th at the Rose Garden, 111-101, and the Suns won the last meeting, on March 23rd, 125-108.

It doesn't seem like a year ago that we were heading into that final game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden, and a team of very young Blazers got the win. Kevin Pritchard, who's the player personnel director now, was the interim head coach then, and Sebastian Telfair and Travis Outlaw led the Blazers to the victory in front of a playoff-like crowd. We can only hope tonight ends the same way, with the same kind of promise being shown on the Trail Blazers' end.

For the Suns this is simply a tune-up game. They had been resting some of their regulars, but in the last game went back to a lineup with most of their big guns and beat New Orleans / Oklahoma City, 115-78. In that game Monday, the Suns ended up shooting 20 for 54 from behind the three-point line. That is a staggering number, and obviously means more than half of their points in that game came from long range. That doesn't happen very often. Expect them to be bombing away again tonight.

Most of the Suns regulars should play tonight, with the exception of Boris Diaw, who will likely win the Most Improved Player award this season. He's got strep throat and didn't make the trip. There's been no word on whether or not Shawn Marion will play tonight. He was kept out of the lineup on Monday, but did make the trip to Portland.

The Suns are looking for their 54th victory of the season, after winning the Pacific Division again, but haven't exactly been rolling through opponents down the stretch. They had an amazing 11-game winning streak that finally ended on March 6th, and are just 10 and 11 since then. Some of the games have been meaningless, as they've had the division title wrapped up and have been getting set for the playoffs, but this is clearly not the way they wanted to head into the post season. They are just 4 and 5 in April, and have to win tonight to avoid suffering their first losing month since re-acquiring Steve Nash.

Speaking of Nash, he is the front runner to repeat as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. No one expected the Suns to be in this position with their most explosive player, Amare Stoudemire, out for most of the season. Nash gets most of the credit, and rightly so. He'll also become just the 4th player in NBA history to shoot over 50% from the field, over 40% from three-point land, and over 90% from the foul line. The other players who have done that, are Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, and Mark Price.

The Blazers got a jump on Fan Appreciation Night yesterday with something we called Trail Blazers In the City. Our entire staff, players included, hit local parks, 76 gas stations, radio stations, and restaurants, to mingle with fans, give out T-shirts, and tickets to tonight’s game. I got a tough assignment. I was with Jarrett Jack at Henry's in downtown Portland playing pool, meeting fans, and having an adult beverage. It was a tough evening. I ended up teaming up with GM John Nash and took on all challengers in 8-ball. I had no idea Nash was a "Fast" Eddie Felson on the tables. I only wish we had been playing for money. Jarrett dubbed our table the "pro" table and wanted no part of the action. He sipped strawberry lemonade (which he said you can't get on the east coast, and is now his favorite beverage) and watched from a distance. Between games we talked with fans, handed out shirts, and talked about what's to come in the off season.

Tonight's final game will be televised on KGW-8 in the Portland area and the Blazers Television Network. Wheels and Tone will have it on the Blazers Radio Network (KXL in the Portland area). On Thursday night, we'll have our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, airing at 6 o'clock. We'll have special guests, and Wheels and Tone will join Rice and I in the studio.

Kobe's Gift to Martell (4.17.06)

We're in San Fransisco, on our final road trip of the season. Tonight, the Trail Blazers take on the Golden State Warriors in the second-to-last game of the season for both teams. The Warriors beat the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden on Saturday night, with both teams shorthanded. Even if the outcome of tonight's game is basically meaningless for both teams, Nate McMillan would very much like to get a win before the season ends. The Blazers wrap up the season on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns in Portland.

The team practiced in Portland before we left yesterday. Because our plane is also used by the Seattle Mariners, we left Portland early on Easter afternoon. It flew to Boston after it dropped us off to get set to pick up the M's following today's early game against the Red Sox. As you probably know by now, Darius Miles made the trip with us, and Zach Randolph did not. So, the Blazers will be shorthanded once again tonight. The starting lineup should once again be Telfair, Webster, Outlaw, Khryapa, and Ratliff for Portland. Golden State played without Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy, and both should be back tonight.

On the flight to San Fransisco yesterday we watched the Lakers / Suns game on the plane. We started talking about Kobe Bryant, and how he and Martell Webster spent time together before the game against the Lakers on Friday. When we boarded the plane to head back to Portland, Martell was carrying a pair of Kobe's shoes, which were autographed. There was also a number written on the shoes- "81." I was told they were the shoes Kobe wore on the night he scored 81 points against Toronto. Needing a little further confirmation, I asked Martell himself last night in the lobby of our hotel in San Fransisco. Martell indeed said Kobe presented him with the shoes after the game on Friday, and that they were the shoes Kobe wore on the historic night. I asked Martell how often he speaks with Kobe, and he said they talk frequently, and that Kobe has invited him down to work out with him this summer in Los Angeles. Martell said he plans on doing it and is very excited about it.

Before a home game against Seattle recently, we spotted Martell and Ray Allen sitting on Seattle's bench a couple of hours before the game against the Sonics. We even shot a little bit of it and added it to our telecast that night. Martell told us after that he was just getting some advice from Allen about life in the NBA, work habits, and tips on handling life in the NBA. Now, it appears he's getting advice from Kobe as well. Say what you want about Kobe, no one ever questions his work ethic, and hopefully that rubs off on Martell, who's already a hard worker. A lot of young players go to NBA veterans for advice, and it appears the 19-year-old Webster has chosen his role models carefully. Allen and Bryant are not a bad place to start.

Tonight's game will be televised on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Television Network, beginning at 7 o'clock with the pre-game show. Wednesday's season finale against Phoenix will also be on KGW. Both games will, of course, also be on the Blazers Radio Network, with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey.

Lakers Need a Win at the Rose Garden (4.14.06)

Four games left for the Trail Blazers, including tonight's game against the Lakers at the Staples Center here in Los Angeles. After tonight, the Blazers have Golden State at home tomorrow night, and then take on the Warriors in Oakland Monday, and the Phoenix Suns in Portland on Wednesday.

Yesterday was an off day for the Trail Blazers, but they did practice. Tonight when they take on the Lakers they'll be without their two leading scorers, Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. Joel Przybilla is back in Portland, injured, and I'm not sure if we'll see Juan Dixon play in the game. That means it'll be up to that young team we saw battle the Clippers to the wire on Wednesday night.

Look for the Blazers to start the same five as they started on Wednesday night. Sebastian Telfair will be the starting point guard, and Steve Blake will play the two, and yes, will once again guard Kobe Bryant. Against the Blazers, and Blake, this season, Bryant has scored 41, 27, and 35 points. Oddly enough, the only game the Blazers have lost to the Lakers has been the game when Kobe scored 27. Portland beat the Lakers on January 11th in Portland, and again on March 1st at the Rose Garden. I watched the Lakers game on Tuesday night at our hotel in Marina Del Ray and following that win over Golden State, Phil Jackson talked about facing the Blazers tonight. He said, for whatever reason, they've been unable to figure the Blazers out in Portland this season, but said they'd be ready on Friday.

The Lakers can clinch a playoff spot tonight. They've got to beat the Blazers and then have Utah lose at Oklahoma City. Of course, the Lakers control their own destiny and if Utah beats the Hornets it doesn't necessarily cripple their chances. They can still clinch if they win just one of their remaining two games. It's also very important for the Lakers because they would love to stay in the 7th spot in the west and avoid playing San Antonio in the first round. If they can stay ahead of Sacramento, they'll get Phoenix instead. The Lakers go into tonight leading the Kings by one game for that 7th spot.

This Blazers / Lakers series has been very competitive in recent years. In the past 13 meetings the Lakers have won 7, and the Blazers have won 6. I was also surprised to learn that the Lakers, under Phil Jackson, are just 11-12 against the Blazers.

One more Kobe note. If he scores 16 points tonight he'll break the Lakers all-time franchise record for points scored in a season. Elgin Baylor holds the record with 2,719 points in the 1962-63 season. Kobe has already broken another Baylor record this season. Bryant has scored 40 or more points in 25 games this season, breaking Baylor's record of 23 games of 40+.

After three nights in the same hotel, we return home to Portland following the game tonight. Then, as I said earlier, face Golden State on Saturday in the second of a back-to-back.

Positives (4.13.06)

You don't ever feel great about a loss, but it is possible to feel good after a loss like last night's. All things considered, the Trail Blazers played one of their best games in a while. They were without their two leading scorers, Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, and were without their best big man, Joel Przybilla. They also played without Juan Dixon, who has started most of the season at the shooting guard spot. So, really, that's four regular contributors not involved at all in the game, and the Blazers took a solid Western Conference team to the wire in their building.

Jarrett Jack continues to look more and more like a leader, and as I mentioned on the air, should be on a short list when talking about steals from last year's NBA Draft. Jack was 8-12 shooting, had 20 points, 7 assists, and no turnovers. He also got the toughest defensive assignments at the other end. When Cuttino Mobley started having success by posting up Blazer guards, Jack was switched on to him and took him out of the flow. Portland's other two point guards, Sebastian Telfair and Steve Blake, played good games as well. Blake started the game at the shooting guard position and had 9 points, all of them coming on three-point shots. Telfair, who Nate McMillan told me will start the rest of the games this season at the point guard spot, had 7 points.

Last night was also another step forward for Travis Outlaw, who played well in the last game against Denver as well. Travis had 8 points and a career-high 9 rebounds. Nate has wanted him to be more active and to better use his athleticism and he did that last night.

Theo Ratliff was also huge for the Blazers in this effort. We've always known he has more offensive ability than he usually shows, and with Zach Randolph out of this game, Theo supplied some much needed front-line scoring. He had 11 points and hit two huge jump hooks late in the game to keep Portland in it.

Elton Brand played well for the Clippers, but wasn't dominating. Viktor Khryapa, who played Brand most of the night, should get some credit for this. Brand got 25 points, but hit just about everything he looked at, and most were outside shots. He was 12 for 16 shooting, but only had 5 rebounds. Viktor did a nice job of keeping a body on him and keeping him off the offensive glass.

I mentioned yesterday how odd this trip is, because we're in the same hotel for three nights. That just never happens. After the game it was great to not have to run like mad for the airport. We were able to return to the hotel, grab some dinner, and then return to our rooms. Tomorrow it'll be a day to get a little work done, play some tennis, walk on the beach, and maybe even relax. We don't get many days off during the season and, at this point in the season, it'll be nice. The team will, of course, practice today, before taking on the Lakers on Friday

Final Road Games (4.12.06)

It's the final multi-game road trip of the season for us, and it begins tonight with a game against the Clippers at the Staples Center here in Los Angeles. It's the first time I can remember playing both the Clippers and the Lakers on the same road trip. As I mentioned yesterday, we're in the same hotel for three nights, and that's really a rare thing. We checked in yesterday afternoon and could actually unpack. Normally it's just throw a couple of things on a chair and get ready to leave again the next day. That's part of what makes NBA travel so tough.

The Clippers are 44-33, the first time since the 1992-93 season they've won 40 games. We talked about that the last time we played them, back on the 26th of March. There are a lot of stats like that in their game notes, of course. They haven't had a chance to talk about the playoffs in a long time and they have set their sites high going into this year's post season. That being said, they are not exactly rolling into the playoffs and desperately want to change that. The Clippers have lost three in a row and 7 of their last 12. Monday they fell to the Mavericks in L.A. 75-73. A very low scoring game for these two teams. Most importantly for the Clips, they need to get healthy.

Last night Courtside Monday Night, which was on a Tuesday, obviously, was hosted by Jay Allen and Bob Akamian. Rice and I were in transit to Los Angeles and Jay and Bob did their usual good job in filling in. They had the director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard on, and also were joined by Joel Przybilla. If you missed the interviews on the show, you can hear them by clicking on the links on the right side of this page.

These two games from L.A. will be on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Television Network. Both broadcasts, tonight's and Friday's, begin at 7 pm with the pre-game show. Nate McMillan will join me for a one-on-one in both pre-game shows. See you tonight.

Bench Unit Has a Good Game Against the Nuggets (4.11.06)

One of the best illustrations of the difference between a good team, and a mediocre team, can be seen in just reading the linescore from last night's game. This is what Denver offensively, by quarter: 28, 28, 28, 26. Here are Portland's four offensive quarters: 19, 33, 17, 29. I know that seems pretty simple, but it's just about consistency. It's what every coach strives for. The Nuggets defeated the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden 110-98.

A look at the Portland box score last night explains why the quarters were so out of balance. The bench unit outscored the starters 66-32. That's incredible. That's simply why the team combined for 62 points in the second and fourth quarters, and 36 points in the first and third. You can usually find stuff like this in a box score, but I can't recall it jumping off the page like this before.

Who would have expected this? In the battle of players playing against their former teams last night, it was Ruben Patterson 21, Voshon Lenard 21. Ruben was terrific last night for Denver. He got a great ovation, as expected, played with his trademark hustle, and had a couple of very impressive slams. He came over to shake the Portland coaching staff's hands before the game, was humble afterwards, and talked about how happy he is to be with a veteran team like Denver. As I said yesterday, I'm happy for Ruben and I hope Denver makes some noise in the playoffs. They've probably got to get Earl Boykins, Kenyon Martin, and Eduardo Najera back to make that noise, but at least two of the three will be ready come post season.

The Trail Blazers were an amazing 13 for 24 from behind the three-point line in the game. The bench was 9 for 18. In the second quarter, Martell Webster and Lenard had the Nuggets' defense spread out, off balance, and scrambling to cover them. Steve Blake's three pointer late in the first half gave Portland a two-point lead. But they ended up trailing by 4 at the half.

The third quarter belonged to Marcus Camby. He had 15 of Denver's 28 points in the third, and continued to answer every Portland run. Camby being healthy down the stretch has been the key to Denver holding its position in the west, and ultimately clinching the division title.

Last night was also another step forward for Sebastian Telfair. He continues to play under control (yes, I know he had 5 turnovers), and continues to finish at the rim. He ended with 21.

Today we leave for Los Angeles, and the final two-game trip of the season. Wednesday night the Blazers take on the Clippers at Staples, and Friday we play the Lakers. It's the first time I can ever remember playing both L.A. teams on the same trip. We'll have the day off Thursday, before playing the Lakers. It'll be extremely odd to check into a hotel for three consecutive nights. I'm not sure that's happened in my time here. We'll actually be able to unpack.

Talk to you tomorrow from L.A.

Ruben Returns (4.10.06)

Okay, let's go ahead and talk about this first, and then we can move on. Ruben Patterson makes his return tonight at the Rose Garden when the Denver Nuggets take on the Blazers. I know for a fact he's had this date circled on his calendar ever since the trade, and it's always interesting to see how players react in situations like this. Knowing Ruben, he'll be all over the floor, chasing the ball, thumping his chest, and trying to put up as many points as possible. This isn't a bad thing, but I'm sure coach George Karl has talked to him about staying under control, something that's been a challenge for Ruben in the past, on and off the floor.

The media will be gathered around his locker following the game, win or lose. As I'm sure you know, he's always been good for a couple of strong quotes, and will no doubt not disappoint tonight. I am like everyone else and am interested in what he'll say. The fact of the matter is, the Trail Blazers paid him a lot of money (overpaid him depending on who you ask), dealt with his off-the-court distractions, and then complied with his trade demand and sent him to a playoff team. Ruben should spend his time thanking the team, and talking about how the fans always treated him so well and appreciated his go-for-broke style. We won't hear any of that though, and he likely won't talk much about his new teammates, or the great situation in Denver. He'll be out to trash John Nash, the organization, the situation in Portland, and will completely forget that he had a lot to do with the atmosphere that existed while he was here. I'm actually happy for Ruben, and always liked him when he was here. As the Nuggets are learning, you just have to take the good with the bad, and you'll always hear the comment "that's just Ruben."

The Blazer crowd, I suspect, will give him a positive welcome back to Portland. The only player the fans consistently boo when he returns seems to be Bonzi Wells. Rasheed hears it at times as well, but it's usually a mix of boos and cheers. With Bonzi he gets booed every time he touches the ball. Fans always appreciated Ruben's hustle and desire, and I believe he was responsible for several Blazer wins early this season. I hope he chooses to focus on that tonight and doesn't spend too much time focusing on himself. I'm sure the Nuggets are hoping for the same thing.

Denver was starting Ruben at the off-guard position for a while, in fact he has started 17 of his 21 games with the Nuggets. But, in recent days, he's been coming off the bench and Greg Buckner has been starting. It's made them a little more consistent, and we all know what a spark plug Ruben can be when inserted with the second unit. That's probably got a lot more to do with it than anything.

The injury news for the Blazers, as we talked about at Utah on Saturday, won't be good tonight. Joel Przybilla won't play, and may not play again this season. He hyperextended his knee against Houston last week and suffered a bad bone bruise inside his knee. The good news is he didn't do any serious damage to the knee. Darius Miles came down awkwardly on his surgically repaired knee at Utah on Saturday and might not play tonight. Zach Randolph, who hobbled onto the team bus in Salt Lake City won't be 100 percent, but hopefully he'll give the team whatever he has. I mentioned on TV several times on Saturday I thought the limping during the game was from him banging the knee in the first half. He told me on the plane it wasn't from that, and it was just sore from wear and tear, and that it's still nowhere near back to full strength following his off-season surgery.

Denver can clinch its first division title in 18 years with a win, and haven't played particularly well in recent days. They'll be not only looking for the division title, but will be looking for the sweep of the Blazers, and will be looking to gain some positive momentum with the playoffs just around the corner.

We'll have the game on TV tonight, on Fox Sports Net, beginning with FSN Live at 6:30. General Manager John Nash will join me live in the pre-game show. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will, of course, have the game on the Blazers Radio Network

Theo To Start, Joel To Sit (4.7.06)

It'll be just about the same starting five for the Trail Blazers tonight when they take on the Sonics at the Rose Garden. The only change being Theo Ratliff will start at center for Joel Przybilla.

During the first half of Wednesday's game against Houston, Joel hyperextended the knee and came up hobbling. We showed it in several replays and it simply looked like took a bad step, or tried to stretch and turn and ended up hurting the knee. He played through the pain, and even played some in the second half. Joel says it was sore, but okay after the game and into the night. At about midnight he found himself in some pretty serious pain and iced the back of his knee. An MRI yesterday showed no ligament damage, just possibly a bone bruise. He's listed as day-to-day, but don't expect to see him tonight. He's frustrated and badly wants to play.

It's kind of gone this way most of the season, as soon as one of the big guys comes back, the other one goes down. Ratliff returned on Wednesday, and Joel goes down. Theo is still battling tendonitis in his ankle, which developed from that bad sprain he suffered in Toronto on February 12th. So, look for Brian Skinner to get some minutes in a back-up role tonight. To get back to the starting five, it'll be Blake, Dixon, Miles, Randolph, and Ratliff.

Tonight is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Blazers and Sonics. Seattle has taken two of the three, including Sunday's 39-point win, the biggest in the history of the series. The game was over early, and I don't think Nate McMillan is going to let that happen again. He was embarrassed in his old home, and the players now owe him one. If they don't already know that, he'll let them know it. We'll also see if the Blazers found any inspiration in the way Seattle continued to shoot three-pointers and celebrate after every dunk with a series of fist pumps, dance moves, and looks to the Portland bench. This happened right up to the final horn. I actually couldn't blame them. They've been called the most disappointing team in the NBA all season (right up there with Golden State and Houston), and this was a chance for them to bust loose and have some fun.

Rashard Lewis didn't play in that game Sunday, and won't play tonight. He'll be serving a one-game suspension handed down by the league yesterday. It comes because Lewis pleaded guilty in court to reckless driving. Nick Collison will play for Seattle. He's been out since tearing the fascia in his right foot on March 5th.

The biggest question is how in the world are the Trail Blazers going to deal with Chris Wilcox. He had 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Blazers Sunday, and then had 26 points and 24 rebounds against Houston on Tuesday. They picked him up when they sent Vladimir Radmanovic to the Clippers back on February 14th. It's one of those rare trades that has worked out perfectly for both sides.

After the game tonight, we fly out to Salt Lake City, and will get in very late. Saturday night, the Blazers battle the Jazz for the 4th and final time this season.

Tonight's game is on Fox Sports Net once again, beginning at 6:30 with FSN Live. Saturday night's game is on KGW-8. Both games, of course, are on the Blazers Radio Network with Wheels and Tone.

Trail Blazers Break Losing Street (4.6.06)

It wasn't pretty, but at this point I don't think anyone cares. An 11-game losing streak, and a 9-game losing streak to the Houston Rockets were snapped last night at the Rose Garden when the Blazers beat Houston 76-75. The fact that it was a very low scoring game shouldn't have surprised anyone, but, okay, no, I didn't expect both teams to be in the 70s.

There were three standout stars of the game for Portland. Sebastian Telfair, Voshon Lenard, and Theo Ratliff. Telfair came off the bench and played, I believe, his best game of the season. He had 13 points, including the game-winning shot, was 6 for 9, had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and had only 2 turnovers. He ran the offense very well, made some great entry passes to the post, and played great defense on Rafer Alston. Ratliff returned with big brace on his ankle, blocked four shots, and played great defense on Yao Ming. His best defense on Yao came away from the ball in the low post. The Rockets were trying to get the ball inside, and Theo showed great strength and determination. Joel Przybilla was also great against Yao, and pulled down 10 rebounds against a very good rebounding team in Houston.

Yao has averaged nearly 30 points per game in his last 15, and has carried this Houston team offensively lately. He had 33 against the Lakers Sunday, and had six games of 30 points or more in March. Last night he was held to just 13 points and 7 rebounds.

It was great to see Lenard get a chance to play for the Blazers last night. They've been going with the young guys, and we've certainly understood that, but last night was an example that at times it takes veterans to get you over the hump. Lenard, who's a great guy and a total pro, hasn't complained one bit about sitting out in place of the youngsters. He's in a contract year and could be putting up a huge stink about not being allowed to at least show what he's still got left to potential suitors. He had 14 points off the bench, hit 3 big three-pointers and also had 3 steals.

Last night was mostly an example of how much this team has been missing its key parts. Ratliff is, of course, one of those elements, and with he and Joel both playing last night it reminded me of what this team can be when healthy. The starters have been fine on most nights. It's when the second unit has come in that things have gone sideways at times.

This game also showed how tough a decision the Blazers will have when it comes to who gets the big minutes at the point-guard spot next season. Telfair is playing the best basketball of his young career right now and is starting to play under control and run the team like a veteran. Steve Blake has been terrific this season and should be proud of how he's made the most of this opportunity. And, Jarrett Jack, who sat out last night (they've been taking turns sitting out of games lately) is going to be in this league a long time, and has been maybe the most consistent Trail Blazer this season. So, do you keep all three? If not, who goes? I'm glad I don't have to make that decision.

Telfair was our guest on TV following the game and expressed to me the relief the team was feeling in finally getting this losing streak broken. The schedule is very tough the rest of the way, and there honestly just aren't going to be many more opportunities to play teams you should beat. Last night was one of those, and on this occasion, they came through.

Friday night should be a great game against Seattle at the Rose Garden. Portland now has some confidence back and will be out for revenge for what happened on Sunday in Seattle. The Sonics destroyed the Blazers and were showboating around like they had just won the NBA title. I know Nate will have them ready to play.

Trail Blazers Could End the Streak with Houston (4.5.06)

Is this the night? Does the losing streak end here? I'm not just talking about the Trail Blazers overall losing skid, but also their streak to the Houston Rockets. Amazingly, Portland has dropped 9 straight to the Rockets. This sounds strange, but I think I remember all 9. There's really no explaining it, but this is the longest losing streak Portland has against any team in the NBA. For whatever reason, in recent history, Houston has just had Portland's number.

The good news for the Trail Blazers is, there's no Tracy McGrady to worry about tonight. I know fans love to see the stars of the NBA, and some would probably prefer to see McGrady on this night, but the Blazers need all the help they can get right now. With the Rockets just about officially out of the running for a playoff spot, and in the middle of a six-game road trip, is this the night the Trail Blazers finally get them?

The Blazers took Monday off, and returned to the practice floor today. They are all sick of this streak and are sick of being asked about it. Their coach, Nate McMillan, obviously, badly wants this thing to end. The schedule is not easy the rest of the way and if you're circling winnable games that remain, this has to be considered one of those on a very short list.

Yesterday afternoon the entire Trail Blazers staff gathered for a meeting. Not a special meeting, just one of the scheduled all-staff meetings. As usual, Nate addressed the entire staff, and as usual, he did a bang-up job. I only wish the public could hear some of these closed-door speeches. If the guy wants a career as a motivational speaker when his coaching days are over he could certainly be successful at it. He talked of his love of the organization, his commitment, his confidence, and his many sleepless nights this season. No one has gone through more pain over the lack of winning than Nate. The one point he pushed across to all of us is that he's not going to rest until things change. I don't know if any staff in the NBA believes in its head coach the way this organization does. It's easy to believe when you hear his conviction and passion. Steve Blake and Juan Dixon also were at the meeting, with their wives, and did a fantastic job.

We're televising tonight's game on Fox Sports Net, once again. And, this is one of several of our broadcasts recently that will be picked up by NBAE and will be broadcast around the world. We'll be on in France, Hong Kong, Iceland, Mexico, The Philippines, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Korea, and China. It's pretty incredible, and I'll be sure and tell Rice to bring his "A" material. Maybe I just won't tell him so he won't get nervous. The technology is amazing and it's exciting every time we're carried around the globe. Hopefully, a lot of people will watch the Trail Blazers snap this streak.

Interesting Draft Speculation Following Florida's Victory (4.4.06)

When we were landing at the airport on Sunday night, following the loss to the Sonics, the announcement came that the Blazers would have the day off Monday. A few players would have to come in for treatment on injuries, but that there wouldn't be a formal practice. Sunday's was one of the worst losses of the season, and this was probably a good decision by Nate McMillan. As we've stated on TV and our radio show, he has continued to run high-energy practices, and has been very demanding of the team despite the fact that they aren't going anywhere after the regular season. Nate has been simply preparing for the future for some time now, and uses every possible moment he can to teach and to see who really wants to be involved in his system.

The team returns to the practice floor today, and will get ready to take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. The losing streak has reached 11, and one of the best remaining opportunities to get a home win is Wednesday. The Rockets aren't going anywhere either, and will be without Tracy McGrady the rest of the way. Friday the Blazers host Seattle, and Saturday take on the Jazz in Salt Lake City.

Last night on our radio show we talked with Frank Hughes, a frequent guest, who writes for the Tacoma News-Tribune, and ESPN.com. Being he spends most of his time writing on the Sonics, we talked about just how disappointing a season this has been for Seattle. They got win number 30 Sunday against the Blazers. This, after winning 52 last season under McMillan. Last week on the show Mike Kahn, of Foxsports.com, said he thinks the Sonics have been the most disappointing team in the NBA this season. I countered with Golden State, and he stood firm on his first choice.

We asked Hughes about the futures of two of Seattle's stars- Rashard Lewis, and Luke Ridnour. I talked with someone very close to the Sonics organization Sunday before the game and he told me Lewis has made noise with those close to him about how he's got one more year left in a Sonics uniform and then is bolting when he becomes a free agent. If that's the case, look for Seattle to perhaps deal him this summer or during next season. Ridnour, you might have read, is not at all comfortable with his current role on the team. Since Earl Watson was acquired he's gotten most of the fourth quarter minutes that used to belong to Ridnour. This is not okay with Luke. He has done some wondering, publicly, if this is the right situation for him. He's got an option year left on his deal but probably could push for a change this summer if he feels strongly enough about it.

It'll be interesting to see what last night's big victory for the Florida Gators does for Joakim Noah's stock. There are some saying he could possibly go number one in the draft if he decides to leave school early. I would imagine the chances of him leaving school just increased with winning that title. Do you like him better than Adam Morrison? Obviously, Portland could end up with this decision come draft day.

UCLA showed class in defeat, and I loved hearing the quote from guard Arron Afflalo after the game. Coaching legend John Wooden, who's 95 now, watched the game from a Los Angeles hospital, where he's recovering from an undisclosed illness that isn't said to be life threatening. Afflalo, when asked if that was a distraction for the team said, "Our heart and everything we do on the floor is always a tribute to him, whether he's healthy or not." I just like the fact that the players at UCLA know and respect the history of the program. That isn't always the case.

Sonics Take Revenge Sunday Night (4.3.06)

The last time the Trail Blazers played in Seattle the emotional edge belonged to us. It was January 30th, and Nate McMillan was making his first trip back to the building where he spent 19 years as a player and coach. There was a video tribute to him before the game, he was given a long-standing ovation, and his players really got to see how much a victory would mean to their coach. They came out very intense and beat the Sonics 116-111.

Last night I was really wondering how it would play out on this second trip to Seattle. Who would have the emotional edge? Which team would be more jacked up for the game? Would the Sonics be out for some big-time revenge? The answers, as I found out a short time later were- the Sonics, the Sonics, and yes. Mike Rice, my partner on TV, and I always talk on the way to the games about what are feelings are about that night's game. What we think might happen, and how we think the teams will come out. Neither of us came anywhere near predicting what would eventually happen last night.

Seattle, basically playing for pride, like Portland, grabbed a hold of the game in the early moments and absolutely ran away and hid. This thing was over early. After we had gotten through one quarter and saw the Sonics outscore the Blazers 34-19, we knew it was actually worse than it looked. Ray Allen hadn't done anything to that point. He got involved in the second quarter and things got ugly. Allen scores in bunches, and put up 18 in the second quarter alone. It didn't take too deep a look into the crystal ball to realize Seattle would be out for revenge, but I didn't think they would use it to their advantage as much as they did.

You take games like this and look at the early stats and throw away the rest. The second half was garbage time, and other than looking to see what Portland players continued to play hard, there wasn't much that was constructive. This losing slump, as you would expect, has sapped every bit of confidence out of this team and it doesn't take much to break them right now. Opposing teams know this and try and stomp on Portland's will early in games. We've seen this in the last several games.

Other than just some treatment sessions for players nursing injuries, the team is taking today off. They need it. There are times you get mad and look to drive points home to a team, and there are times when you just force them to get away for a day. They need a day off.

It's not a day off for Rice and I, as tonight we hit the radio for Courtside Monday Night. It'll be on from 6pm to 8 on KXL-AM 750 in the Portland area, on the Blazers Radio Network, and available on line at kxl.com. Your e-mails are welcome at courtside@blazers.com. You can begin sending them now if you wish. Our guests are going to include Utah TV analyst Ron Boone, Frank Hughes from the Tacoma News Tribune, one of the best NBA writers in the biz, and Blazers assistant Maurice Lucas, who is down in the NBDL with Ha Seung-Jin. Talk to you tonight.

Can the Trail Blazers Mix-up the Playoff Race? (3.31.06)

Same story, different day. By that I mean, the Trail Blazers are getting set to take on another team fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and another team that simply cannot afford to lose a game at this point. The Utah Jazz come into the Rose Garden on Saturday night.

The NBA schedule is always set this way, so this is no surprise. You've always got mostly opponents from the west down the home stretch, and this season there are so many teams still in the running the games are all intense. I only wish the Trail Blazers were one of those teams battling for a spot in the second season. It's a great time to be an NBA fan. I actually think the race to the playoffs in the final days is as exciting as the first round.

Utah plays tonight against the Clippers in Los Angeles, and that's a very big game for both teams. More so for the Jazz, because, of course, they're already in good standing in the race. They are either going to finish fifth or sixth. I still think they'd be much better off to finish sixth, and, even though they can't admit it, I'm sure they agree. It's a matter of playing San Antonio or Dallas with the fifth spot, or finishing sixth and playing Denver in the first round.

The win for Sacramento on Wednesday night in Portland was huge. They aren't comfortably in the eighth spot, but they'd be really biting their nails if they had lost to the Blazers. As it stands now, they have a game and a-half lead over Utah for the final playoff spot. When you talk about remaining schedules, I think Utah has the advantage. They've got tough games left, like tonights against the Clippers, San Antonio, Denver, Golden State, and have to play at Dallas, and San Antonio. But, the Kings have to play at Golden State, have the Clippers home and away, are at Dallas, San Antonio, and Denver, and have to host Phoenix. The one feather Sacramento has in its cap is that they own the tie-breaker with Utah. So, the Jazz have to end up with a one-game lead over Utah to grab the final spot. So, when I say they are a game and a-half back, go ahead and figure they are 2 and a-half back. That's still doable, but they can't slip up against Portland on Saturday.

Not only is Saturday's game an intriguing matchup for the Blazers, but Sunday night we're in Seattle to play the Sonics. The teams have split the first two meetings, and play again in Portland a week from tonight. Nate McMillan would obviously love to win the season series from his former team.

The Blazers didn't do much on the practice floor yesterday. They watched film, got treatment, did some shooting, and had a light workout. As I said yesterday, I thought the effort was good on Wednesday night, Sacramento just played like a desperate team and played an incredible offensive game in getting the win.

Tomorrow night's game will be on Fox Sports Net once again, beginning at 6:30 with FSN Live, the pre-game show. The game against the Sonics on Sunday will also be on FSN. The next home game, following tomorrow nights, will be Wednesday against the Houston Rockets at the Rose Garden. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you Monday following the game against Seattle.

Kings Play Like They Need It In Portland (3.30.06)

You might hear us talking about the assist-to-turnover ratio a lot on our TV broadcasts. We've brought it up mostly when talking about Steve Blake this season. He's been among the league leaders all season in this category, and going into last night's game he was third on the list. Chauncey Billups of Detroit leads the league at 4 to 1 clip (4 assists for every turnover). Blake is currently third at 3.74 to 1.

Team averages carry more weight, of course. A decent team assist-to-turnover ratio is usually about 1.7 to 1. I say all of this just to put into context what the Sacramento Kings did last night. Forget the fact that they shot 51% from the field. They dished out 33 assists, and committed just 6 turnovers. In the first half the number was absolutely ridiculous. They had 21 assists and 1 turnover. That almost never happens in this league. I don't think I've ever seen a team do that in a half.

Tuesday night, in their loss to Washington, the Kings had 16 assists and 18 turnovers. Seeing that number in reverse is never a good sign, and it wasn't in that game. True, they shot just 43% in that game, and assists are, of course, directly tied to shooting percentage. You make shots, you get assists. But even more than that, the ratio is very good indicator of ball movement, offensive efficiency, and your opponents' defense.

Maybe even more amazing last night is that no Sacramento player had more than 6 assists in the game. They not only got balanced scoring, but everyone was passing the ball (and, everyone was making shots). You just aren't going to beat a team when they do this. It's kind of remarkable to me that the Trail Blazers were actually within 11 points at one point in the second half, and lost the game by only 16.

I haven't even mentioned that the Kings were 12 for 18 from behind the three-point line. Tuesday night against the Wizards they were 4 for 17. Brad Miller, their center, was 4 for 6, Ron Artest, who shoots 28% on the season from behind the line, was 3 for 3. Mike Bibby, who played a fantastic game, was 4 for 5 on his three-point attempts. In short, the Kings played jus about a perfect game.

I mentioned yesterday the Kings were looking at this game as a "must win." They played like it last night, and after losing their previous two games, both at home I might add, their timing last night couldn't have been better. They moved back to the .500 mark at 36-36, and bought themselves a little breathing room in that 8th playoff spot in the west. It's not over yet, but this was likely their most important game of this final stretch. They still have tough games left, and to lose in Portland would have been disastrous for them..

The effort put forth by the Trail Blazers was very good last night. They got off to a solid start, but just ran into an extremely hot, and desperate team. After falling behind by 17 at halftime, the Blazers actually outscored the Kings by one in the second half. The Blazers shot 46%, were 7 for 12 on their three-point attempts, outrebounded the Kings 37-33, and had 20 assists and only 9 turnovers. Those numbers, on most nights, will get you a victory.

Blazers Play Spoiler (3.29.06)

This game just got a whole lot more interesting. When you're not in the playoffs you have to motivate yourself in different ways, and playing the spoiler is one of those ways. Tonight the Trail Blazers can really knock some pins down in this race in the west, if they can beat Sacramento. A Kings loss wouldn't destroy them, but it would certainly make the Utah Jazz happy.

Last night the Kings lost their second-straight game, and second-straight home game, this time to the Washington Wizards 97-84. I watched the game on league pass and all the Kings announcers kept talking about late in the game is the fact that Wednesday's game at Portland is just about a "must win." They lost Sunday to Golden State at home, and with last night's loss they are just a game and a-half ahead of the Jazz for the 8th spot. Both Sacramento and Utah have tough schedules remaining. The Kings still have to play at Golden State, Clips, Dallas, and San Antonio, and host the Clips and Phoenix.

The biggest concern for the Kings right now isn't the schedule, it's how Ron Artest is mired in a big-time slump. The team is still 17-12 since the trade back on January 25th, but have now lost 5 of 7. Last night Artest had just 12 points on 4 of 18 shooting. Against Golden State on Sunday he was 4 for 20. In his last three games Artest is 10 for 50 from the field. That, my friends, is a slump. He'll be out for blood tomorrow night. Are you ready Viktor Khryapa? I assume Viktor will get the assignment on Artest tomorrow night.

Also a concern for the Kings is the fact that their entire offense is slumping. Artest's struggles are a big reason why, of course, but the team has scored 84, 83, 91, and 80 points in its last four games. They aren't the run-and-gun Kings of the past, but the production is way down, obviously.

During our game Sunday night, Rice and I were talking about some of the other teams in the west, and the Phoenix Suns came up. I don't care who the player is who's coming back, teams have to go through adjustment periods. This is especially true when you've had such a good rhythm going. Suns fans shouldn't be alarmed by what's happened in their last two games, but it's concerning. This is why they had to bring him back before the playoffs. Their five-game road trip back east isn't exactly off to a good start. They fell Monday night in New Jersey 110-72. Last night they lost at Milwaukee 132-110. They still have Indiana, Toronto, and Detroit left on this trip. Even though they've got the second seed in the west already nailed down, you don't want to head into the playoffs like this.

Tonight's game against Sacramento will be on Fox Sports Net, beginning at 6:30 with FSN Live. Former Blazer, and former Cleveland general manager Jim Paxson will join me for a segment on the pre-game. The game also, of course, will be on the Blazers Radio Network, with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey. Oh, and by the way, it's Joel Przybilla bobblehead night at the Garden.

Fans Weigh in on Draft (3.28.06)

It was just a light practice for the Trail Blazers on Monday morning, following the loss to the Clippers on Sunday night. Not many teams do a lot of physical training at practice at this time of year. Mostly it's just some shooting drills or contests, possibly walking through some new wrinkles, or watching tape. The one thing everyone did yesterday was shoot free throws. Lots of them. The Blazers are last in the league in free throw percentage, and people sometimes ask me "don't they work on them?" Yes, they do. They practice them individually and as a team. Yesterday some of the players got involved in elimination competitions, and the losers had to run. It's a good way to work on free throws, make it competitive, have a little fun, and get your conditioning in all at the same time.

Players also come in for treatment following games, and that was the case yesterday. Zach Randolph treated his sore toe, Joel Przybilla iced his knee, and Theo Ratliff got his sore ankle worked on. Some of the players lifted weights following the short workout and then went home to get some rest. Jarrett Jack stayed around and hosted some kids from Special Olympics.

The homestand continues Wednesday night when the Sacramento Kings come to town for the third and final meeting of the season. The Kings play tonight at home against Washington. The Wizards came up with a big win at Golden State last night, and are playing well. The Kings, who have struggled a bit as of late, are trying to hang on to the eighth playoff spot in the west. Wednesday will be yet another chance for the Blazers to play spoiler.

Last night was our Courtside Monday Night radio show. As I mentioned yesterday, our guests included Jarrett Jack. If you missed it, you can hear the interview by clicking on the link at the right of this page. It's a little tough to hear Jarrett, but most of it is okay. We also had Mike Kahn on from Fox Sports.com, and John Hollinger from ESPN.com.

Judging by the e-mails and calls to the program, many fans have already turned their attention to the off-season, and have been weighing in on who they think the Blazers should take on the NBA Draft. The NCAA Tournament gives all of us a chance to see some of these players we've been hearing about on TV. It's amazing how the mock drafts get hot and cold on certain players, and much of it has to do with how they play in the tournament. We'll continue to debate this topic on the radio show, and your opinions are always welcome. I was surprised this week how many people have cooled on Adam Morrison. Tyrus Thomas, out of LSU seemed to be getting the most attention from fans, and in many mock drafts he's now listed as No. 1. The pre-draft workouts will tell us a lot come summer.

A Rare Win for the Clippers in Portland (3.27.06)

Tonight it's back to the radio for Mike Rice and I as we host Courtside Monday Night on the Blazers Radio Network (KXL 750-AM in the Portland area) from 6pm-8. Our guests tonight will include Blazers rookie Jarrett Jack, who had a career high 20 points at Phoenix last Thursday. He's been one of the most consistent players this season for Portland and has a very bright future with the organization and the league. Also on will be Mike Kahn from Fox Sports, John Hollinger from ESPN.com, and Jim Kozimor from the Sacramento Kings broadcasting team. As always, your e-mails are welcome and you can send them anytime today. The address is courtside@blazers.com. If you can't catch the show, you can hear the interviews tomorrow right here on this blog.

Last night it was more of the same for the Blazers as they fell to the L.A. Clippers 97-83. Portland got off to a horrendous start in the game shooting just 3 for 17 in the first quarter. Take away the bad first quarter and the Blazers actually beat the Clippers the rest of the way. Portland rallied in the fourth quarter to get its shooting percentage up to 34 percent for the game, but was never really in this one.

A win for the Clippers in Portland has been a very rare thing. Coming into this season, the Clippers had won only 12 games, all-time going back to 1970, in Portland. Now, the all-time series in Portland stands 75-14, in favor of the Blazers. The teams meet one final time this season and that's in L.A. on April 12th. Two days later, the Blazers take on the Lakers. It's the first time I can remember us playing the Clippers and Lakers in the same trip to L.A.

The Clippers now sit 41-28. It's the first time they've won 40 games in a season since 1992-93, and are closing in on their first playoff birth in 9 years. They currently sit in the fifth playoff position in the west, with Memphis right behind them in sixth. It's an interesting situation because the sixth spot could possibly be a better place to be. The team that finishes fifth will get the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. The sixth place team will get Denver. I know Denver is playing very well and will be dangerous, but if I'm the Clippers I'd rather be in sixth and get the Nuggets.

The Trail Blazers continue their homestand on Wednesday night when the Sacramento Kings come to town. The Kings, following an awful start to the season, are now in a position to make the playoffs in the West. Everyone is talking about how Ron Artest is the reason why. It'll be the fourth and final meeting between these two teams on Wednesday. The homestand wraps up on Saturday night with a game against the Utah Jazz at the Rose Garden.

Talk to you on the radio tonight at 6.

Khryapa has Career High Game Against Suns (3.24.06)

We talked yesterday about how the Phoenix Suns were coming off a loss, in fact two of them, and how good teams don't very often let losing streaks develop, especially at this time of year. Tonight, the Trail Blazers will face the same situation when they take on the San Antonio Spurs at the Rose Garden. They've won 13 of their last 16, but are coming off a loss Wednesday at Denver, which means they'll be out to make sure this streak doesn't reach two (I know, one loss doesn't constitute a "streak" but when you're 53-15 I'm sure it feels like a streak). This will be game two of a five-game trip for the Spurs. They lost to Denver, have Portland tonight, and then have Seattle, the Clips, and Lakers, before returning home.

It's the final time Portland will see San Antonio this season, and I'm sure that is just fine with the Blazers. They've lost the three previous meetings with the Spurs, but played them tough in the last two meetings. They lost a hard-fought battle, 86-82 at the Rose Garden back on February 1st, and then fell in Texas on March 4th, 101-81. The Blazers actually had the lead midway through the third in that one. The Spurs have a very impressive 33-7 record against the Western Conference, and being Dallas is hot on their heels, can't afford to drop one in a game like this tonight. Their regulars should get no rest, at least early.

Last night the Blazers fought hard in Phoenix, but lost 125-108. This was an 8-point game midway through the third, but the Suns were just too much to deal with. They wanted to whitewash the Blazers following their 111-101 loss at the Rose Garden two weeks ago, but didn't get a comfortable lead until the fourth quarter.

We always search for bright spots, and last night it was easy to find those. Viktor Khryapa, who continues to show aggressiveness offensively, had a career-high 22 points, and also pulled down 12 rebounds. He was 8 for 10 shooting and played his tail off. Jarrett Jack, who came off the bench, also had a career high, scoring 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting. His 20 points came in just 21 minutes of action. It was also great to see Sebastian Telfair return to the game after spraining his ankle and going to the locker room. It would have been very easy for him to just call it a night following the injury, but he returned, and ended with 12 points.

Zach Randolph, who's been so solid lately, got into early foul trouble, and that really kept him out of the flow of the game. He ended with only 4 points and 3 rebounds. For the Blazers to have had any chance in this game, especially with Amare Stoudemire returning, Portland would have needed one of Zach's best efforts. Instead, he never really got into this game.

We'll have tonight's game against the Spurs on Fox Sports Net, and in fact, the remaining 14 games are all on TV. Tonight's broadcast begins at 6:30 with FSN Live. As always, Wheels and Tone will have the game on the Blazers Radio Network, beginning with Game Day, hosted by Jay Allen, at 6 o'clock.

Amare Returns for the Suns Rematch (3.23.06)

Tonight it's the rematch between the Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix. I've gotten a lot of e-mails, still, asking me why we aren't broadcasting this game on local TV tonight. Believe me, it's not like we don't want to. And one last time, here is the reason. The national TV contract the league has with TNT states that a team has to be on TNT a minimum of six times in order to be allowed to broadcast a game on an exclusive TNT night. So, basically, Phoenix can broadcast it locally and we can't. They've been on TNT more than six times (a lot more) and we haven't. I'm sorry, Rice and I would much rather be in Phoenix tonight doing the game. As I told you yesterday, the final 14 games are all on either Fox Sports Net, or KGW-8 beginning on Friday night's game against San Antonio. How's that for a back-to-back, Phoenix, then San Antonio. Might as well throw Detroit and Miami in there.

Now 11 days ago I probably wouldn't refer to tonight's game as "the rematch." But, no one expected Portland to beat Phoenix at the Rose Garden on the 12th of this month, but they did. It was probably the Blazers' most complete effort of the season, and they beat a Suns team that played a very good game as well. That's what made it a very satisfying win. Steve Blake outplayed Steve Nash and believe me, Nash remembers that and will be out to set the record straight tonight.

The biggest story going into this game is that it sounds like Amare Stoudemire is going to make his return for the Suns and play his first regular-season game of the season. We don't know this for sure yet, but he told ESPN earlier that the chances of him returning is "80-20" at this point. They need to work him back into the system before the playoffs and I'm sure figure that even if he's rusty and things don't go well, they can still work over the Blazers. They are also basically locked into the 2nd playoff seed in the west. The Clippers aren't going to catch them in the Pacific and they aren't going to catch San Antonio for best record in the west.

Another thing working against the Blazers tonight is the fact that the Suns have lost two in a row coming into tonight. They've only lost three straight one other time this season and that was back in December. If Amare comes back tonight the joint will be jumping and it'll likely be a huge lift for the Suns.

You can't help but like Phoenix's chances in the post season, but there is one stat that is troubling for the Suns, and I'm not really sure what to make of it. They are 0 and 6 in games decided by 3 points or less. Sometimes these stats don't mean much and this one probably falls under that heading. But, you have to look at it. It's interesting that five of those six losses came at home for the Suns. They lost their season-opener to Dallas, then lost the fourth game of the season to Sacramento. They lost a three-overtime game at Denver, and then lost that 152-149 two-overtime game to Seattle. Most recently, they lost by two to Minnesota, also at home. But, after that game they went on an 11-game winning streak. Not sure what all of that means, but I thought I'd mention it.

The one significant Trail Blazers note I have for you is that Theo Ratliff didn't make the trip to Phoenix (neither did Rice and I, did I mention that?). Theo's sprained ankle is now being termed "tendonitis" and he won't play. Perhaps he'll be back when the Blazers take on San Antonio on Friday.

Tonight's game is on the Trail Blazers Radio Network, with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey. I talked to Wheels last night and he said it was strange that there were actually appetizers on the plane when he boarded in Portland yesterday. I reminded him that Rice wasn't on the flight, and he said, "oh, that's right."

An Interesting Interview with Juan Dixon (3.22.06)

It's off to Phoenix today for the Trail Blazers, who take on the Suns tomorrow night. Yes, the Suns will be fired up to play Portland following the 111-101 loss they suffered at the Rose Garden on the 12th of this month. To make matters worse, they lost in Utah last night. Everyone remembers what happened the first time the Blazers played in Phoenix so I'll spare you the unpleasant details.

Because there was a game Monday night, our Courtside Monday Night radio show was moved to last night, and we held the show at the new 24-Hour Fitness club on 42nd and NE Halsey in the Hollywood District. It's an incredible facility and we had a great time. Steve Jones, who used to be a permanent on this show with Rice and I, joined us for the second hour and Juan Dixon was on hand with us as well.

Dixon is very good behind a microphone and we fired a lot of questions at him. Dixon, personally, has had a good season after signing as a free agent in the off-season. He got an opportunity to show the league he can be an effective shooting guard and has done that. He told us he's proud of that and is happy his stock is on the rise, but being a team guy, is very disappointed in how things have gone for the Blazers this season. Echoing what many have said, Dixon talked about how good this team can be on certain nights and how much they can struggle on others.

I thought it was interesting when we brought up the Phoenix Suns to him and the style they play. I think every player in the NBA would love to get up and down like the Suns do, and Dixon thinks it's going to be the style of choice in the near future in the league. He talked about how Shaquille O'Neal really changed things in the middle, and how that now that he's in the September of his years, we're seeing teams start to return to the run-and-gun style.

Dixon was very complimentary to his old University of Maryland teammate Steve Blake, and talked about how happy he is that Steve has done so well this season. If the Blazers had a few more wins Blake could very well be mentioned as a Most Improved Player candidate. He also talked about Sebastian Telfair and his improved play as of late. He attributes this to Nate McMillan giving his guards a longer leash in recent games. Dixon said he would love to see Telfair play more "like he did back home."

To hear the entire interview with Dixon, click on the link on the right side of this page.

It's a strange day for Rice and I because we will not be going to Phoenix with the team today. Rice said it's the first time in 15 seasons he's missing a road trip. Because of league's TV contract with TNT, we won't be allowed to televise tomorrow night's game. If you're not on TNT a minimum of six times, you can't broadcast against them on a night they have games. That doesn't seem very fair, but it is what it is, and we'll be stuck at home for this one. The good news is the final 14 games are all on TV, so this is the final game that is not. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have the game against the Suns on the Blazers Radio Network.

Another Close Game Against the Bucks (3.21.06)

Last night's game was so similar to so many other games this season, I could just probably cut and paste a game blog from a few months ago and it would be close to the same. The Blazers played well at times, were right in the game most of the way, had a dry spell or two, made a comeback, and just couldn't get a big shot to fall in the clutch. Game over. Milwaukee beat Portland for the second-straight time, 100-93 was the final.

The Blazers got off to a slow start in the ball game, falling behind by as many as nine points in the first half. But, they battled back to tie it at halftime. The third quarter, which has been the team's weakest more often than not, belonged to Milwaukee, as they outscored Portland 31-16. The Blazers didn't roll over and die, and outscored the Bucks 26-18 in the fourth, and coming within one point at 92-91 with 1:49 left. That's where the 23-8 run stopped, and the Bucks were able to finish off the win. It was Portland's final game against the Eastern Conference, and they finished the season 11-19 versus the east.

Zach Randolph picked up his 22nd double-double of the season, with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Joel Przybilla also had a nice night, scoring 13 and grabbing 12 rebounds. It was not a good game for Darius Miles, who missed his only four shot attempts and left the game after taking a shot to his eye. Steve Blake's solid play continued, as he dished out nine assists and didn't turn the ball over. The Blazers had 22 turnovers at Milwaukee on Saturday, and solved that problem last night, turning it over only 9 times.

Because we had a game last night, the Courtside Monday Night radio show is tonight, and Mike Rice and I will be doing the show from the new 24-hour Fitness in the Hollywood District from 6 to 8 pm. Juan Dixon will be with us on site, and Steve Jones will be by as well. Be sure and listen in, on KXL-750 AM in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Radio Network. In tomorrow's blog I'll recap the night, and you'll be able to listen to interviews from the show.

Turnovers a Killer in Milwaukee (3.20.06)

We arrived back in town from Milwaukee, and the four-game road trip, Saturday night at about 1:45 a.m. It was a four-hour flight home, and they always seem a lot longer following losses. The game against the Bucks at the Bradley Center was Portland's best game of the trip, but they fell short 97-93. As I've said on numerous occasions this season, there were some positive things to take out of the loss, but going 0 and 4 on the trip kept all the other thoughts well in the background for the players and coaches on the flight. Zach didn't play at Milwaukee, and it was good to see the team rally together without its leading scorer. He's carried such a big load of the offense lately, it was hard to know what to expect from the team without him. Sebastian Telfair continued his improved play, Joel Przybilla had his best game since returning, and Juan Dixon played in his first game of the road trip and supplied some much-needed outside shooting. Steve Blake, who has been so good lately, couldn't buy a bucket, and that almost never happens to him. Turnovers were the killer in this game, and points off turnovers was the glaring stat that ruined Portland's chances. Milwaukee scored 31 points off Portland's 22 turnovers, and the Blazers only got 11 points off Milwaukee's miscues. Any time you've got a +20 in that category for your opponent it's tough to do enough positive things to overcome it.

The best part of this game for the Trail Blazers was that they responded every time they hit a drought, and Milwaukee went on a run. They hadn't done that in the previous three games on the trip. Teams always go through rough stretches during game, but lately this Portland team, when knocked into the ropes, hadn't been bouncing back. Any scoring drought, or positive burst by the opponent, had basically the turning point in the ballgames. That wasn't the case on Saturday.

Tonight it's these same two teams again, this time at the Rose Garden. It's the last game of the season against a team from the Eastern Conference, and it's a game the Blazers feel like they should win. Zach will likely return, and Theo Ratliff should as well.

It's hard to believe there are only 16 games left in the season (10 of those are home games). The season seems so long at times, especially when you're losing more than you're winning, but the end always seems to come before you're ready for it to. I already find myself looking ahead and wondering who will be here next season, and who won't. I was doing that Saturday night on the flight home, while walking the plane from front to back, talking to different players. Regardless of what you might think, this is a tight group and the chemistry is good. When you're with them every day, and are a fan, like we the broadcasters are, you want so badly for things to go well for all of them. That's been one of the toughest parts of being on the losing end as often as we've been.

One reminder, because there's a game tonight, our Courtside Monday Night radio show has been moved to tomorrow night. Rice and I will have the show from 6 to 8 pm tomorrow night. Juan Dixon will be with us, among others. You can hear tonight's game, with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey, on KXL-750 AM, and the Blazers Radio Network.

Blazers and Cavs Both Needing a Win (3.17.06)

It's game three of this four-game trip tonight, when the Trail Blazers take on the Cavaliers, in Cleveland. Yesterday, following the loss to New Jersey, the Blazers went through a light practice here in Cleveland. They basically watched a lot of tape of the loss to the Nets and did some shooting and minor drills. I talked to Nate McMillan at the hotel today, as he was on his way to practice. I asked him how he's doing, and he replied "fine, I just have to figure out how to get us more than five points in the fourth quarter." He was, of course, referring to the nightmarish 1 for 13 performance in the fourth quarter at New Jersey on Wednesday night. He talked about how the young guys freeze up at times during rough stretches and don't really know where to go for their offense. Zach Randolph has been great, but he's getting doubled every time he touches it. There just hasn't really been a second option in the last couple of games.

The Cavaliers come into tonight's game badly needing a win. They still have the third-best record in the east, but have lost three in a row, and tonight open a four-game homestand. In fact, six of their next seven games are at home.

Back on January 15th, the Trail Blazers beat Cleveland at the Rose Garden 89-87. The Blazers had an 11-point lead with 10 minutes to go, but the Cavs battled back. LeBron James, who had 18 points in the first quarter, had a quiet second half and surprised everyone when he passed up a shot in the final seconds and instead deferred to Eric Snow who had to toss up a low-percentage shot at the buzzer, and the Blazers hung on for the win. The Cavs were without Drew Gooden in that game. He is back, and will start tonight. Former Oregon Duck Luke Jackson played in that first meeting, but then broke his wrist on February 6th, and has been out since. It's been a rough couple of years to start his career. He was the 10th pick in the draft, and has been a disappointment. Injuries, of course, have played a huge part in that.

It was a day off from a game on this trip. It started with one set of back-to-back games, and ends with another set. It's the Cavs tonight, and then we fly to Milwaukee after the game and get set to take on the Bucks on Saturday night. The players practice this afternoon and then got some time to themselves. I went to a movie with Antonio Harvey and TV producer Scott Zachry. We saw "Failure to Launch," yes, a chick flick- plenty of Mathew McConaughey with his shirt off, as expected. After that, Joel Przybilla joined us and we went to dinner. In retrospect, I'm not really sure why we picked this day to see a movie, what with the NCAA Tournament starting. I did get to see several games and tried to rebuild my status as a man.

I've mentioned this before, but when we're in the east I always realize no one back here pays any attention to anything happening in the NBA out west (or anything else, for that matter.) The games all begin at 10 or 10:30, and by the time the Minnesota / Golden State TNT game ended last night it was after 1:30 am. It is nice for those of us who stay on Pacific Time while we're traveling. There's plenty to watch late into the night.

We'll have tonight's Blazers / Cavs game on KGW-8 TV tonight in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Television Network. It begins at 4:30. As always, Wheels and Tone will have it for you on the Blazers Radio Network.

A Fourth Quarter Lead Ends with a Loss (3.16.06)

Greetings from Cleveland. It's our third city in three days, as this four-game road trip continues. The trip has two sets of back-to-backs, so today is our only day off on the trip. The term "day off" means just a day off from playing a game, however. The team will practice today at 2pm and will get set to take on the Cleveland Cavs on Friday night.

Last night we arrived at the hotel in Cleveland by about 1:30am, which is much earlier than we got into New Jersey Tuesday night. The nice thing about travelling through the east is, there are still games in progress on the west coast, and we got to watch the Lakers / Minnesota game, and part of the Phoenix / Clippers game as well, on the flight to Cleveland.

The fourth quarter of our game was a nightmare, as you probably know by now. The Trail Blazers went into the fourth quarter with a lead, and being the Nets were 28-0 on the season with a lead after three quarters, the fact that Portland had the lead appeared to be a good sign. Portland ended the third quarter on a 15-7 run and appeared to have the momentum. It quickly swung back to New Jersey, and nothing went right for the Blazers in the fourth. The team was as shocked as we were, and no one expected them to go 1 for 13 shooting in the quarter. They ended up scoring a franchise-record low 5 points in the fourth. The Nets outscored Portland 21-5 in the quarter and won the game 78-65. The last quarter erased what had been a good effort by the Blazers up to that point. In Chicago it was the third quarter that did them in, and last night it was the fourth.

Zach Randolph had a good game, with 24 points and 7 rebounds, and it was nice to see Martell Webster agressive to start the game. He had 9 points in the first quarter, but only got 2 points the rest of the way. He also turned the ball over 5 times and was frustrated about that. He got on the bus after the game and told Maurice Lucas "tomorrow we've got to work on my entry passes to the post," and rolled his eyes as he walked to the back of the bus. Steve Blake, coming off an uncharacteristic off night in Chicago, had 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting, and also dished out 10 assists in the game. It was his second double-double in three games. I rode up on the elevator with Blake in our hotel in Cleveland, and forgetting all the positives he asked me "do you know where I got my second turnover of the game?" He only turned it over twice, and I told him I couldn't remember the second one. His assist-to-turnover ratio is second-best in the NBA, and he takes a lot of pride in it.

Owner Paul Allen suprised us when he strolled out to the court before the game and greeted Mike Rice and I with a handshake and a quick conversation. He also stopped by and talked to Wheels and Antonio, and spent time with John Nash, Nate McMillan, and went to each player before the game and said hello. I'm sure he was happy with the performance through three quarters, like we were.

Two games remain on this trip- it's the Cavs Friday, and Milwaukee Saturday, and then back home.

Four-Game Road Trip Starts off Slow (3.15.06)

Greetings from Short Hills, New Jersey. We normally stay in Manhattan, just across the river, when we come to play either the Knicks or the Nets, but being this was is a very short stay, the team decided to stay in New Jersey and not deal with New York City traffic. It was very fitting that we watched the first episode of the new season of The Sopranos on the flight from Chicago last night (we watched it, the players watched a replay of the game, just so you know). I guess the Bada Bing is very close to the arena, but time won't allow a visit on this trip. I was telling John Nash we should take the official Sopranos tour (there is such a thing), but don't have a day off to do it. Nash, who used to work for the Nets, knows the area well, and said next time he'll take us on the "unofficial" tour.

Playing a back-to-back set is always tough, but it's especially brutal if you have to head east after your first game, because on top of everything else, you also lose an hour. Last night we arrived at our hotel in Jersey at about 3 a.m. Eastern. We're not here long. After the game tonight we head right back to the airport and fly to Cleveland. That's life in the NBA. In Cleveland we'll actually be staying in the same hotel for more than one night. That's due to the day off on Thursday.

Last night, obviously, the four-game road trip didn't get off to the kind of start the Trail Blazers were hoping for. Just like in the Phoenix game, the Blazers fell behind big right out of the chute, and once again were able to recover. Even though it wasn't a good first half, the Bulls lead at halftime was only nine. With the way Chicago was playing defense it felt like a lot more than nine, however.

After games like this you always wonder if it was just a matter of having a very bad offensive game, or if Chicago's defense was really that good. As usual, it was probably a combination of the two. Portland could only manage 66 points, which is a season low. Zach Randolph had another good game, 25 points and 8 rebounds, and will need to have another good one tonight.

The New Jersey Nets lead the Atlantic Division and are the opponent tonight. The Trail Blazers beat the Nets in Portland in late January, and look for the season sweep tonight. It'll be interesting to see how they bounce back from last night. It's tough to get a non-playoff team extremely motivated at this time of the year, but Nate McMillan will try and find a way.

Same channel tonight for the game, Fox Sports Net, at 4:30. Wheels and Tone will have the game on the Trail Blazers Radio Network (KXL-750 AM).

Flying into The Windy City (3.14.06)

When they put out a wind advisory in the Windy City you know you’d better hang on. Following the win last night over the Phoenix Suns, the time spent flying to Chicago did seem to go by a little quicker yesterday. That is, until the rollercoaster approach into Midway. Winds were reported at 50 mph and felt much stronger than that as we danced onto the runway. Granted, I’ve been called a little “jumpy” during landings like this in the past, so talk to a real man to get the real story. That’s what Rice says anyway. When we have a rough flight I always think of Maurice Cheeks, who hated to fly (probably still does) and would bury his face in his hands at every shake or bump. All in all yesterday, it was nothing a Giordano’s deep-dish Chicago-style pizza couldn’t cure once we got downtown. It was in the 60’s in Chicago over the weekend, 40 today, and supposed to be 20 tomorrow and could snow.

I mentioned yesterday how much a big victory does for the overall mood of the team. That probably goes without saying. One of the first people I saw yesterday morning, as we were getting set to board our plane, was Nate McMillan. He walked up to the few of us gathered early and slapped us all five. He’s always friendly, but you could tell he was feeling especially good following the victory over the Suns. We were all in a good mood, that is, until Wheels put “Crash” on the DVD system and got us all depressed. Well, not depressed, but it’s pretty heavy. Best picture? Not sure about that one. That made for a healthy debate.

Sebastian Telfair cruised up to our section of the plane and we all told him how much we enjoyed “Through the Fire,” the documentary on his senior year in high school, which premiered on ESPN Sunday night (two thumbs up, no debate here). He said, “You guys thought it was pretty cool?” and genuinely acted relieved and happy everyone liked it. I have to remind myself at times he’s just two years removed from high school basketball. We talked about several favorite moments, had a few questions, and also congratulated him on a solid game off the bench against Phoenix. He’ll likely get more time on this trip due to Juan Dixon being out.

Once we checked into the hotel, the team went to practice. Dixon didn’t practice today, as he continues to rest his sore knee. With Chicago starting a small backcourt, Portland can probably get away with playing Steve Blake at the shooting guard spot again, like we saw in the second half on Sunday. He and Telfair were terrific against Phoenix, playing at the same time. Jarrett Jack can also play the 2, and will probably get most of his minutes at that spot. Martell Webster, who started at the off-guard spot on Sunday, is set to start again tonight and will be matched up against Ben Gordon, the reigning 6th Man of the Year, and Chicago’s leading scorer this season.

Some good news concerning Joel Przybilla. He went through most of practice yesterday, and from what I understand he could possibly play tonight. This is a suprise. His knee is feeling much better and he wants badly to get back on the court. Don't look for him to start tonight, but it's good to hear he may play. We didn't think he'd be available on this trip. Theo Ratiff probably won't play, due to his sore ankle that he tweaked again against Phoenix on Sunday.

Chicago is having a disappointing season, and sits just 28-35 on the season. They are coming off a win at Atlanta on Sunday, and in the east you can be seven games under .500 and still be just two and a-half games out of the playoffs. So, every game is huge for them right now. Of course, the Bulls made the playoffs last season and fell in the first round to Washington.

We’ll have tonight’s game on Fox Sports Net beginning at 5:30 Pacific. The game will also be on the Trail Blazers Radio Network, with Wheels and Tone. Following the game tonight we immediately head for the airport and fly to Newark. Wednesday night it’s the second of this back-to-back when the Blazers take on the New Jersey Nets.

Trail Blazers Have a Nearly Perfect Game Against the Suns (3.13.06)

I remember December 6th very well. The Phoenix Suns were having a ball at the Trail Blazers' expense in Phoenix. I felt horrible, due to a cold, was losing my voice, and we left down embarrassed and bruised, falling to the Suns 130-85. Evidently, the Blazer players remembered that night as well. I know Nate McMillan did.

In front of a loud Rose Garden crowd last night of 18,896, the Trail Blazers outplayed the Suns, took Phoenix's best shots down the stretch, and beat them 111-101. Steve Blake outplayed Steve Nash, Zach Randolph had another monster game, and Darius Miles had his best second half since opening night in Minnesota. When they needed it most, and I'm talking about the entire company now, the Blazers got a big win.

If you heard that the Suns had an off night, and didn't play up to their standards, you heard wrong. They shot 50 percent, above their season average of 48 percent, exceeded their season average in going 13 for 30 (43%) from behind the three-point line, committed only 11 turnovers (season average 14), and came very close to their average of 27 assists, with 26 in this game. Nash, who will win the MVP for the second-straight season, recorded 16 assists, shot over 50 percent from the field, including going 2 for 4 on three pointers, and grabbed 7 rebounds. Shawn Marion met his season averages of 20 and 10, and Raja Bell, who's averaging 15 points per game, scored 19. They simply ran into a better team, at least on this night.

The Trail Blazers exceeded their seasonal averages as well. They shot 54 percent, were 9 of 16 from behind the three-point line, shot 77 percent at the foul line, recorded 29 assists (season average 18), and outrebounded the Suns 45-30. Want the key stat? The Blazers beat the Suns in bench points 71-18 (okay, I know Zach came off the bench because he was late for shoot around). Miles came off the bench for 20 points, on 10 of 15 shooting. We've talked about how this team needs to be nearly perfect to win big games like this, and how there's just no margin for error or room for lack of effort. On this night, they were, nearly perfect.

In his last three games, Zach is averaging 31 points, 9 rebounds, is shooting 52 percent, and has hit 5 of his last 6 three pointers. That's one the best three-game stretches in the NBA this season, maybe the best.

Blake's performance deserves its own paragraph. He had 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting, was 3 for 3 on three pointers, recorded a career-high 13 assists and didn't turn the ball over a single time. He has been an incredible bright spot in a season that has lacked them, and, he's only getting better with time. Nate used Blake at the off-guard spot for periods in the second half, and Sebastian Telfair, whose been playing very well, at the point. Did you catch "Through the Fire" the documentary on Telfair's senior year in high school on ESPN last night? It's very well done and find a tape of it if you didn't see it. It really makes you appreciate what he's gone through, and the pressures he's had to face.

By the time you read this, we'll be in the air heading for Chicago. The four-game road trip takes us to Chicago for a game Tuesday night, New Jersey Wednesday, Cleveland Friday, and Milwaukee Saturday. Juan Dixon, who sat out last night's game due to a sore knee, told me in the locker room after the game, he just needed some rest and will make the trip. Joel Przybilla, who joined me on the pre-game show last night, will also join us on the trip. He probably won't play, but will return to practice and wanted to get back around the team.

onight be sure to tune in for Courtside Monday Night, 6-8pm on KXL-750 AM in Portland. Jay Allen and Bob Akamian will be your hosts, as Rice and I will be in Chicago. The flight won't seem quite so long following the victory over the Suns. I can't begin to tell you what a difference that makes.

Interesting Trend Following Zach's Big Games (3.10.06)

The Dallas Mavericks continued their dominance over the Trail Blazers on Thursday night, and ran their streak over Portland to 10 straight. Once again, it was the big two who did the damage for the Mavs. Tuesday night in Dallas, Dirk Nowitski had 25 and Jason Terry scored 26. Last night, Nowitski had 33 and Terry had 19. The Mavericks stay hot on the heels of San Antonio for the SW Division lead and number one seed in the Western Conference.

Zach Randolph had another great game against Dallas, following up his 33-point effort Tuesday with 29 last night, but it was another loss. They were great games for Zach, and the offensive is obviously running through him, but it got me wondering about the team's success when he has big scoring nights. When I got home from the game I did a little digging and came up with an interesting number. I don't normally pay much attention to numbers like this, and you can always read too much into stats and make them really say whatever you want. But, this one is at least worth a mention. The Trail Blazers are just 4 and 11 on the season when Zach scores 23 points or more in a game. So, while it may seem like a great thing to see Zach post huge offensive games, is it really good for the winning percentage? His two biggest nights scoring (37 points at Detroit, and 33 points at Dallas) both happened in losses. I also looked at Zach's big rebounding games, and this one wasn't a surprise. When Zach grabs 10 or more rebounds in a game, the Blazers are 9 and 8. There you go, for whatever it's worth. When he rebounds, the Blazers win more often than not. When he scores big, it doesn't mean team success.

We've talked about how difficult the schedule is in these final two months, and if a three-game trip through Texas, including a back-to-back against Dallas wasn't enough, the Phoenix Suns come to town on Sunday. And, as luck would have it, Steve Nash, who sat out last night's game against San Antonio, will most likely return for the game in Portland on Sunday. All that follows that game is a 4-game eastern trip (Chicago, New Jersey, Cleveland, Milwaukee) and then the team returns home for games against Milwaukee, has Phoenix on the road, and then San Antonio back at home.

To mix a little good news in here, I updated Joel Przybilla's progress in yesterday's blog. He's been battling tendonitis in his knee. He told me last night he is making the 4-game trip with us next week. We leave Monday morning for Chicago. That doesn't guarantee he'll play in any of the four games, but at the very least it means he'll be returning to practice by then. His parents, from Minnesota, are in town right now, and he wore a tie with his suit last night on the bench. I'm not sure if this was just because his parents are here, but I can't remember ever seeing him in a tie before. I said to him before the game, "you don't wear ties." He said, "yeah, but I got this new suit...” I also blamed his parents for bringing this March snowstorm to Portland with them from Minnesota. I spent all this time in December telling them how nice it would be for their visit to Portland in March, and then it snows on them. They got to see their brand-new grandson Anthony, so I don't think they really cared about the weather.

Sunday's game against Phoenix will be televised locally on Fox Sports Net, and will also be on the Trail Blazers Radio Network. See you then.

Injuries Improving for Ratliff and Przybilla (3.9.06)

It was back to work on Wednesday for the Trail Blazers, as they went through a noon practice following Tuesday night's loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. As I said yesterday, we didn't get back home from the 3-game road trip until about 2 am Tuesday night, and Nate McMillan gave the team a little time to sleep.

I had a couple of questions in my head when I went to practice yesterday- both were about Portland's shot blockers. If you've seen this team in games with Theo Ratliff and Joel Przybilla, and without, it's obvious why their health is always a concern. That being said, Brian Skinner has done a nice job since coming over in the trade with Sacramento, but he's still learning the offensive and defensive schemes. Theo surprised some when he started the game against Dallas Tuesday. I was told he would probably give it a go, but then when I got to the arena Nate told me he was going to start him. And, to get back to my question, I wanted to see how Ratliff's injured ankle was doing the morning after returning to the lineup. He had it heavily wrapped, but went through just about everything the team did and didn't outwardly show any signs of pain. That was good news.

As for Joel, I talked to him before practice and could tell his mood had improved. He's been so frustrated with this tendonitis in his knee and has so badly wanted to get back on the court with his teammates. He was at practice, and went through the normal stretching with the team, but didn't take part in the regular full-court drills. He says he's feeling great, but still can't pinpoint a date for his return. Doctors had told him to rest it, which is often the only real treatment for tendonitis, and he's done that. We really won't know anything until he gets back to game shape and gets the knee going again in game speed. The timing of this latest flare up wasn't good. Not only does he want to help his team on the court, he's also in a contract year, the most important one of his career. We fans talk about that a lot, but I will tell you that Joel never does. He is truly taking this day by day, and isn't thinking about this summer when he'll become an unrestricted free agent. It's unrealistic to think the thoughts don't enter his head, but he always says the right things, and truly feels he owes a lot to the Blazers, who gave him another shot after hardly anyone else would. Only time will tell what effect, if any, this knee injury will have on his value on the open market this summer.

Tonight it's the Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, for the fourth and final meeting of the season. If the last two meetings are any indication, we can expect a good game. The Blazers took the Mavs to overtime on January 22nd, at the Rose Garden, and then of course, had the lead for about 41 and a-half minutes of Tuesday's game before falling in Dallas.

I'm sorry to say tonight's game won't be televised locally. It's a Thursday night, which means TNT has exclusive rights, and there are number of rules which prohibit us from televising the game. TNT isn't doing our game, but because we don't play at least six games on national TV during the season, we can't go up against their games with ours tonight. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have the game on the Trail Blazers Radio Network. We'll be back on TV Sunday night when the Phoenix Suns play at the Garden. That game will be on Fox Sports Net locally. Then, on the four-game road trip back east next week, three games will be on local TV. The first two, Chicago and New Jersey, will be on Fox, and Friday's St. Patrick's Day game at Cleveland, will be on KGW-8, in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Television Network.

A Disappointing Roadtrip Still Shows Progress (3.8.06)

It was a familiar theme in the Trail Blazers locker room last night in Dallas. The players were talking about missed free throws, key defensive breakdowns, and another loss. But, this one was different. Say what you want about moral victories (and I've said plenty about them this season), this was another step in the right direction and there was a lot to learned. The lesson again, being simply, the good teams do the little things it takes to win. Dallas outscored Portland last night 33-25 in the fourth quarter and won the game 93-87.

This Texas road trip didn't go the way many people expected. True, they lost all three games on the trip, and not many people gave them a chance in any of the three before the trip. They had the lead in San Antonio midway through the third quarter. They had the lead in Houston midway through the third quarter. And, they had the lead last night in Dallas, and never trailed, until the 6:19 mark of the fourth quarter. Under normal circumstances, almost pulling an upset means nothing. I realize that. But for this team, playing the third game in four nights against a hungry and angry Mavericks team that badly needed a home win, to be that close to a win, said a lot about this team, and said a lot about the progress Nate McMillan has made.

We can talk about free throw shooting, and have on many occasions this season. If the Blazers shoot their average, which isn't good, and the Mavericks shoot their average, Portland wins this game. The Blazers were outscored at the line by 15 points. Guys who normally don't miss free throws, were missing them. It was glaring. That probably hurts more than simply getting blown out.

As always, on the flight home from Dallas late last night, the game was replayed on the big screen where the players sit on the plane. Coach McMillan and his staff watched as well. It's hard to immediately re-live a disappointing loss, but it's part of the educational process. We arrived home at about 2 a.m.

The Blazers, in this case, get an immediate shot at redemption against this Dallas team. The two meet for the fourth and final time this season tomorrow night at the Rose Garden.

Shooting Battle: Youth vs Wisdom (3.7.06)

If you have to be on the road in the month of March, the Southwest isn't a bad place to be. It was nearly 80 degrees today in Dallas, as the Trail Blazers had the one day off on this road trip. Well, a day off from playing a game, but not a day off from practice, of course. Nate McMillan put his team through a practice this morning at the American Airlines Center, which is only a few blocks from our hotel. Tonight, the Blazers take on the Mavericks, at 5:30 Pacific Time. We'll have the game for you once again on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and on the Trail Blazers Television Network. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will, as always, have the game on the Blazers Radio Network.

The Mavs are bound to be a little grumpy tonight when they host the Blazers. Sunday, the Phoenix Suns snapped their 16-game home winning streak and handed Dallas its second loss in three games. During the sports segment on the local TV news tonight, the lead was "the Mavericks have lost two games in the last four days, where do they go from here?" I guess it doesn't mean much down here that the two losses were to San Antonio and Phoenix, and both games were very close and were decided in the final moments.

Also decided in the final moments was the last game between the Blazers and Mavericks back on January 22nd at the Rose Garden. That was the game where Steve Blake scored 16 straight points for the Blazers and they sent the game to overtime, before falling 95-89. I had forgotten this until I read it in the game notes last night, but that was Dallas' eighth straight win over Portland, their longest winning streak in the history of the series.

It was a good practice today for the Blazers, and probably the best news I can pass along was that Theo Ratliff participated in just about everything and there's a chance he could play tonight. It would be his first game since February 12th, the day he sprained his ankle against the Raptors in Toronto.

Darius Miles, who's been sitting out of practices, resting his sore knee, did practice today. Zach Randolph, who left the game at Houston with soreness in his knee, was the only player who didn't practice today. He is expected, however, to play tonight.

At the end of practice today some of the players got into shooting games against each other. This is not a rare occurrence. Some of the younger Blazers, specifically Martell Webster, got into a battle with veteran Voshon Lenard, a very, very good long-range shooter, as you probably know. Brian Wheeler, who watched the contest, told me Lenard missed his first few, possibly on purpose, to give Martell some false hope. Apparently, it worked. While Webster grabbed the early lead and began to feel confident, Lenard, the wily veteran, then dropped the hammer and won the unofficial competition, just as he had planned.

See you tonight on TV. Then, we get to fly back to Portland and will arrive home late tonight. It's then two home games, Dallas and Phoenix, before we hit the road again for a four-game trip, Chicago, New Jersey, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.

Steve Blake Goes for Career High in Texas (3.6.06)

We're in Dallas now as this three-trip through Texas continues and following a tough back-to-back to start the trip today is just a day for practice and then some rest for the Trail Blazers. We got to the hotel last night at about 1 am following the short flight from Houston.

The last two games have been rather strange. They've been very similar in some ways as well. Obviously the final scores were similar, 101-81 in San Antonio and 102-84 last night in Houston, but in both games Portland held leads in the second halves. In fact in both games the momentum turned at about the same time- midway through the third quarter.

Against the Spurs the Blazers led 58-57 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. After San Antonio made a major adjustment, putting Bruce Bowen on Zach Randolph and going with a four-guard lineup, Portland couldn't respond and fell very hard in the fourth quarter. Last night the Blazers led by 3 with about 7 minutes to go in the third, and those final 7 minutes were a nightmare. The Rockets scored 37 points in that quarter, their highest total in any quarter this season. The turning point, I felt, was the technical foul Zach Randolph picked up with 5:39 left in the third and the Blazers trailing by only two, 56-54. Houston grabbed the momentum and ran away. Jeff Van Gundy deciding to just put the ball in Yao Ming's hands and let him to the work was also key. Yao had a season-high 32 points. Brian Skinner did his best to hang with him, but was on an island much of the night. This was really where not having Joel Przybilla hurt.

Going for a season high last night, and a career high, was Steve Blake. He caught fire in the second quarter when the Blazers were digging themselves out of a hole they found themselves in after the first quarter. Blake led the charge, scoring 11-straight at one point, and after trailing by 16 in the first quarter, the Blazers actually led by one at halftime. Blake ended the night with 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and was 4 for 6 from behind the three-point line. It's too bad the Blazers stopped going to him in the second half, and Nate McMillan talked about that after the game. You've got to learn to ride the hot hand and pump that well dry. Notice how Blake's play has picked up since the addition of Brian Skinner? Skinner, like Przybilla, sets monster screens, and even if nothing else is working offensively, the pick and roll is always there.

By the way, it was nice that Blake's father, Richard, was in the stands in Houston last night to witness Steve's career night. He found me after the game and asked me to get him a final box score of the game. Today Richard is driving back to Miami from Houston. If you think that sounds like a long drive, consider the fact that Richard and Cindy, Steve's mother, drove from Miami to Los Angeles, where they watched the Blazers play the Lakers, then drove to Portland. After watching the three-game homestand in Portland, they drove from Portland to San Antonio, then to Houston, and now it's back home. I get antsy on my 20-minute commute to the Rose Garden. Richard told me it's tough having Steve play so far from home, but that he's thrilled he's gotten the opportunity with the Blazers. Cindy mentioned that Steve is very blessed,and that he loves it in Portland. It's nice to have a success story like Blake's to focus on during this tough stretch.

This road trip continues tomorrow night, and I'm sorry to say it doesn't get any easier. They take on the Dallas Mavericks just down the street from where I am at the American Airlines Center. The Mavs had their 16-game home winning streak snapped yesterday by Phoenix, so they'll be in a bad mood.

Kobe and Lakers, Just What The Team Needed (3.2.06)

Back in January, when the Trail Blazers were fighting to snap a 6-game losing skid, the Lakers proved to be the perfect cure. The Blazers beat them on that night 113-103. Last night, with the Blazers stuck in a 6-game losing skid, the Lakers came to town, and, well, you know the rest by now. I walked to the parking lot with Nate McMillan following the game and told him now he just needs to convince his team they're playing the Lakers every time out. He agreed, but I know he feels this kind of effort should come against whoever the team is playing.

In front of a loud crowd of 19,454 at the Rose Garden last night, the Trail Blazers saw their 16-point third quarter lead chopped to just three late in the fourth quarter, but hung on for a huge victory. Huge not only because it snapped the losing streak, but huge for all the other reasons, with all the other stuff that's gone on lately. It was a great reward for the loyal Trail Blazer fans who packed the house last night. It was a hard-fought win against a team fighting to hang on to the 8th playoff position in the Western Conference, by an undermanned Trail Blazer team.

I talked about the changes to the starting line up in yesterday's blog, and even though Nate tweaked the starters a bit from what he told me on Tuesday night, Brian Skinner, the major change, did start, and was a big reason the Trail Blazers won the game. He played 37 minutes in the game and ended with 9 points, 10 rebounds, countless hustle plays, a huge tip in, and several big-time screens up top for Steve Blake. With Joel Przybilla and Theo Ratliff watching in suits from the bench, Skinner played the center position, and was thrilled to be a big part of such a big win. Who knows what will happen to his minutes once Theo and Joel come back, but he's done exactly what was asked of him following the trade. It's all about timing in this league, and the Blazers badly needed a player like Skinner at this time.

Blake continues to play very well, and it was his two key jumpers that helped the Blazers answer the late Laker run. Blake ended the game with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He was also 2 for 5 from behind the three-point line, handed out 5 assists and committed just one turnover. That's half the story. He also was asked to guard Kobe Bryant again tonight, and even though Bryant hit his average of 35 points, he made Kobe work for everything. Kobe ended the game 10 for 27, and turned the ball over 4 times. Blake denied him the ball, disrupted the Lakers offense, and played perhaps his best game of the season.

Let's not forget that the defensive play of the game was turned in by Darius Miles, who stripped Smush Parker of the ball, drove the length and dunked with 10 seconds left. The Lakers were down only 3 when Miles stole the ball and it sealed the win.

It's back to the practice floor today, and then we leave for the Texas triangle on Friday morning. It's San Antonio Saturday, Houston Sunday, and Dallas Tuesday. Daunting yes, but at least the Blazers leave town riding high after this big win.

New Line-Up Tonight (3.1.06)

There will be a new starting lineup on the floor tonight when the Trail Blazers host the Lakers at the Rose Garden. Nate McMillan told us last night it'll be Steve Blake, Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, Zach Randolph, and Brian Skinner. Skinner has played so well in his first two games he's shown he can handle the starting minutes, and that'll be a huge help to Zach. He can return to his natural position at power forward and most importantly, will have defensive and rebounding help on the front line with Skinner. The biggest challenge tonight will be Outlaw most likely defending Lamar Odom, at least early in the game. Nate may decide to play Outlaw on Brian Cook, who causes Zach trouble by dragging him out on the perimeter, and we'll most likely see Blake start on Kobe. That'll leave Martell on Smush Parker, and that seems to be the best option.

Last night Mike Rice and I hosted Courtside Monday Night, out at the Nautilus World Headquarters in Vancouver. What an incredible campus, and a great crowd with the Vancouver Chamber of Commerce members there with us. McMillan was there, as was Brian Skinner. They both joined us on the air, and if you'd like to hear the interviews click on the links on the right side of this page. Nate went into detail about why he's going with this new starting five, why he's not starting Darius Miles, and how he's approaching this incredibly difficult portion of the schedule.

Skinner is a terrific interview, and a funny guy. It was great to get to know him better, and spend some time with him on the air. He talked with us about being traded (something he knows a lot about) and how great it is to get an opportunity to play with this Portland team. We also talked with both guys about Skinner's great performance on Monday in Sacramento against his former team. The first thing I asked Skinner about, off the air, was his being in the starting lineup tonight. He gave me a strange look, and I realized he hadn't been told that. When I asked him on the air about when he learned he'd be starting, he said, "about two minutes ago."

There's going to be a very big crowd at the Garden tonight, as there always is when the Lakers come to town. It's the final home game before three straight in Texas. We've got San Antonio on Saturday, Houston Sunday, and Dallas on Tuesday. That's pretty much a sign of things to come the rest of the way for this Portland team. Just about everyone left on the schedule is battling for a playoff spot, or at least playoff positioning.

The next four games will all be televised on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and on the Trail Blazers Television Network. Tune in 30 minutes prior to tip off for the pre-game show. Wheels and Tone, of course, will have the games on the Blazers Radio Network. See you tonight.

Several Bright Spots In Loss (2.28.06)

At times like this you look for bright spots where you can get them, and you didn't have to look far to find them last night. The team got great point-guard play from Steve Blake and Sebastian Telfair, and got a big boost from new addition Brian Skinner. Blake had 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting, Telfair had 16 off the bench, and Skinner was Portland's best interior player, scoring 17 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Outside of that, it was a very disappointing night. The Kings blew open what was a close game right before halftime, and never looked back in the second half, winning 115-91.

I always get a feel for what's going to happen in a game long before it starts. Sometimes I'm way off in what I thought before the game, but most of the time it doesn't take a genius to have a pretty good handle on what to expect. Last night going in it was obvious it would be a tough game to win. Sacramento had been off since last Thursday, and the Blazers were playing the second of a back to back. The Kings had won 9 straight at home, and are starting to realize they are still in the playoff race in the Western Conference. And, they remembered that Portland walked into Arco back on December 26th, and handed them a 13-point loss. All of that added up to exactly what we saw.

The most disappointing stat of the night was the rebound totals. We always talk about the "effort categories" and rebounding is one of those stats- especially offensive rebounding. Now the Blazers aren't one of the better rebounding teams in the league, and this is especially true with Joel Przybilla and Theo Ratliff out. But, the Kings aren't a good rebounding team either. Still, last night, they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, to Portland's 4. This game them a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points. You're not going to win many games when that number is as lopsided as it was. The Trail Blazers shot a decent percentage, 47%, were 6 for 13 on three pointers, and were even 81% at the free throw line. Even 17 assists and 16 turnovers you can live with, if you don't get killed on the boards. It was the obvious difference in the game, and was the sole reason the Kings won it.

Also, as Nate McMillan told us on the TV pre-game show before the game, this Portland team has to get great performances from its veteran leaders to have a chance to win. There isn't any margin for error in this department. This was clearly not a good night for Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, who combined for 4 for 15 shooting, 2 rebounds, 5 turnovers, and 8 points. Zach is playing out of position right now, as he is trying to play the center spot because of the injuries to Theo and Joel. That explains his 1 for 6 shooting. However, it doesn't explain him getting only 2 rebounds. Darius also had a tough match up with Ron Artest on him. He also had to expend a lot of energy trying to guard Artest at the other end.

Again, it was great to see Skinner play so well in his first two games as a Blazer. Kudos to John Nash and Kevin Pritchard for involving the Kings in the trade at the last minute on Thursday. That got Portland Skinner instead of Vitaly Potapenko. The Blazers were badly in need of help on the front line, and the injuries to Joel and Theo are really hurting this team. Skinner at least has shown he can fill a much-needed role.

Tonight, Mike Rice and I will host our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, starting at 6 o'clock on KXL 750-AM in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Radio Network. The show can also be heard on kxl.com. Nate McMillan and Brian Skinner will be guests on the program. Skinner is a great guy, and I'm looking forward to you getting a chance to know him a little better. Like many players in this league, he was just begging for a chance to get involved and get some playing time, for someone. Not only is he getting an opportunity here, he's badly needed right now. Talk to you tonight on the radio.

New Player Takes on Former Team (2.27.06)

Greetings from Sacramento. This is one of the dreaded back-to-back situations for the Trail Blazers tonight as they take on the Kings at Arco Arena. As far as the back-to-backs go this isn't that bad because we were in our hotel rooms by about 12:30 am last night, which is much earlier than usual when you're talking about the Western Conference. It's still never easy, especially when the team you're taking on is well rested. The Kings haven't played since Thursday.

The Trail Blazers will be trying to make it two straight wins at Arco tonight, something that hasn't been accomplished very often in recent years. The Kings don't have the tremendous home-court advantage they've enjoyed in the past this year, but they are playing much better as of late and will no doubt have revenge on their minds. Back on December 27th the Blazers came down here and defeated the Kings 105-92. This was, of course, before the Kings added Ron Artest to the roster and he is always a handful for the Trail Blazers. No matter what lineup the Blazers use, it'll be tough to matchup with Artest.

The Kings are still below .500, at 25-30, but have played much better as of late and have started to adjust to the new roster change. They head out on a 5-game road trip following this game tonight so definitely want to get the win over the Blazers before hitting the road.

Following trades in the NBA, it's always interesting when new players take on their old teams. Brian Skinner gets that chance tonight. He was involved in the 4-team deal last Thursday when the Blazers sent Sergei Monia to the Kings for him. Skinner looked very good last night and got significant time as the Blazers lost to the Hornets in Portland. Even though he didn't put in years of service in Sacramento, he will no doubt want to play well tonight.

I mentioned this on our broadcast the other night, but wanted to let you know in the blog as well. We've talked about the Trail Blazer players who have become first-time fathers this season. Joel Przybilla just did and before that Viktor Khryapa, Sebastian Telfair and Zach Randolph became proud papas. Now, I'm happy to be able to announce that Steve Blake and his wife Kristen are expecting their first child. I had to have Steve get me the okay from Kristen to announce this and he did on Friday night. They are excited and we wish them the best as they head into this special time.

We'll have tonight's game against the Kings on KGW-8 tonight beginning at 6:30 with the pre-game show. Wheels and Tone will, of course, have the game on the Trail Blazers Radio Network beginning at 6 pm with Game Day, hosted by the one and only Jay Allen. See you tonight.

Impending Trade Deadline (2.27.06)

They won't be in the lineup tonight, but they're on the way. As you know by now, the Trail Blazers did execute a trade-deadline-day deal, sending Ruben Patterson and Charles Smith to Denver, and Sergei Monia to Sacramento, in exchange for Voshon Lenard, and Brian Skinner.

Wednesday night there were rumblings about a possible deal in the works during the game against Charlotte. No one had it exactly correct, but the rumors about the principle asset leaving was correct. Ruben left no doubt what his agent had told him when he held a farewell press conference in front of his locker following the game. Early yesterday morning the deal was thought to have been a three-team trade, and the Blazers would have ended up with Vitaly Potapenko and Lenard. But, general manager John Nash and player personnel director Kevin Pritchard then went to work on a different twist to the deal. Rather than bring in Potapenko, they were successful in involving a third team, Sacramento, in the deal. It did cost the Blazers Monia, but they got back something they really needed, a back up power forward, who also can play center, in Skinner. It was an important move, and one that made the trade not only help financially, but also brought back some immediate help and assisted in balancing the Portland roster. Nate McMillan, who coached Potapenko in Seattle, wasn't wild about having him join this Blazers team. He had a hard time trading Monia, who he really likes, but in the end told me he felt the sacrifice was necessary and is much happier with bringing in Skinner.

Mike Rice and I hosted a special edition of our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, last night. Nash was our guest right off the top, and he broke down how the deal came to be, and how it was tweaked just hours before the deadline. To hear our interview with Nash, click on the link on the right side of this page.

We got a lot of e-mails to the show, and as always, didn't have time to read them all on the air. Just about all the fans had positive things to say about the deal. There were a few people who wondered why Ruben had to go. His energy and enthusiasm on the floor made him popular with Trail Blazer fans, but it seemed most realized it was time for a change. Ruben's negatives had been outweighing the positives as of late, and he has been asking out for a couple of years. McMillan wants players on his team who want to be here. Anything else is just a distraction and Ruben had certainly been that on occasion this season. His spark off the bench will be missed, but his emotional ups and downs will not.

For any deal to be finalized, all the players involved need to pass physicals with their new teams. So, tonight the Trail Blazers will be really shorthanded. Zach Randolph, who took an elbow to the mouth in the Laker game on Tuesday, wasn't able to go on Wednesday. Hopefully, he'll return tonight against Boston. If he doesn't, it'll leave the Blazers with only eight players in uniform. It's likely Skinner and Lenard will be set to go on Sunday against the Hornets. It's not certain, but things should be finalized by then, barring some snag.

We'll have tonight's game against the Celtics on Fox Sports Net, beginning at 6:30 with FSN Live, the pre-game show. John Nash will join me live in the second segment. Wheels and Tone, as always, will have the game on the Trail Blazers Radio Network. See you tonight.

Impending Trade Deadline (2.23.06)

Tick, tick, tick...
It's one of the most exciting days in the NBA and can also be one of the most frustrating and devisive days. Teams are scrambling to pull off last-minute trades, as the deadline is this afternoon. The clock is ticking as we speak and it's no secret the Trail Blazers have a few lines in the water.
Tonight, as we have talked about, is a special edition of Courtside Monday Night from 6:05 to 7:30 on KXL 750 AM in the Portland area and is also on the Blazers Radio Network. If you're outside the area you can stream the show and hear it live on kxl.com. Tomorrow in this blog I'll have some of the interviews for you to link to and hear if you don't get a chance to hear the program tonight. Our guests tonight will include Blazers general manager John Nash, ESPN's Ric Bucher, Marc Spears from the Denver Post and Mike Kahn from Fox Sports. It's a great lineup of guests and we'll be talking about any and all the trades that happen today in the NBA.
As always you are invited to take part in the program and can start sending your e-mails now,if you'd like. The address is courtside@trailblazers.com. We'll try and get in as many questions and comments as we can. The show normally runs from 6 to 8 pm, but we're jumping off early tonight because the Oregon Ducks play UCLA, and KXL will carry that game following our program. Monday night, Courtside will be back and I can already tell you that Nate McMillan will be part of that program on Monday along with a yet-to-be determined Blazers player.
Will we have a Trail Blazers trade to talk about tonight? We will soon find out. Remember, the trade deadline is at noon Pacific Time today but if teams are busy finalizing a trade they can go over the deadline. So, if it gets to be noon and you haven't heard anything, don't necessarily think nothing is happening. We'll have everything for you tonight on Courtside.

Trail Blazers Take a Break for All-Star Game (2.22.06)

A late-night flight, very little sleep, and no time for recovery, mentally or physically. That's pretty much what a set of dreaded back-to-back games means for NBA teams. The Trail Blazers face that scenario once again tonight, when they take on the Charlotte Bobcats at the Rose Garden. The good news in this case is, Charlotte is facing it as well, as they played in Denver last night and lost to the Nuggets.

We arrived back in Portland last night at around 2 o'clock in the morning, which isn't unusual. Getting out of L.A. usually takes a little longer than the typical dash for the airport in most cities. The games are later starts, 7:35 pm, then there's a fairly decent drive to LAX. Toss in So Cal traffic and you've got a late departure once we reach our plane.

The effort was certainly better by the Blazers last night, but the result was similar to what we've seen lately. All it usually takes is one short drought, or one bad quarter for this team and they fall too far behind. This quarter last night was the third. After rallying late in the first half to cut the Laker lead to just 4 at halftime, the Blazers were a little slow out of the blocks in the second half, and ended up getting outscored in the third 23-15. The scariest part was, Kobe Bryant hadn't even decided to join into the Lakers plan yet. He finally did in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his 27 points. Before the game if you had told Nate McMillan Kobe would have been held to just 12 points through three quarters I'm sure he would have taken it.

As we talked about on TV after the game, the Trail Blazers defensive game plan was very solid, and it put them in a position to win this game. But, the offense, on this night, was not good. The team shot just 39 percent, and ended up an awful 12-28 at the free throw line. You don't win when you shoot 42.9% at the foul line.

Zach Randolph, as I talked about yesterday, was forced to play the center position with Ratliff and Przybilla out. This put him in a more difficult match up, and his numbers reflected that. He did a good job on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds, but scored just 7 points on 3 of 12 shooting.

That stretch of seven consecutive road games, thankfully, is now over, and it's three in a row at the Rose Garden. It starts tonight with Charlotte. Boston is in town Friday, and New Orleans / Oklahoma City is here on Sunday.

Trail Blazers Take a Break for All-Star Game (2.21.06)

The all-star break is over, the blog is back, and the rest of the season opens tonight for the Trail Blazers against the Lakers at the Staples Center. We always talk about the first half and second half of the season, but in reality, obviously, the all-star break comes well after the midway point of the season. The Trail Blazers have played 51 of the 82 games in the regular season.

The biggest news I have for you this morning, is that Darius Miles will return to the starting lineup tonight for the Blazers. His last start was on December 2nd against Indiana, and that was the last game he played before undergoing knee surgery. He missed 34 games before returning to action on the recent road trip. His target return date had been this game against the Lakers tonight, but with Theo Ratliff and Joel Przybilla out, and with his knee feeling good, returned a little early. So, tonight the starters will be Blake, Dixon, Miles, Randolph, and Ha. Zach will be spending quite a bit of time at the center spot, and coach Nate McMillan says that could actually be something Portland could take advantage of. Obviously, playing at the center spot will mean the team will depend much more on Zach's rebounding, and McMillan spoke to him about that.

We arrived in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon, and only had about four players with us on the flight south. As is always the case following the all-star break, most of the players were told to report to the team the day before the first game after the break, and that was yesterday. As I said in my final blog before the break, several of the players were going to get away for a few days, as a lot of NBA players do at this time. It's not a long break, but it does allow for a few days to rest and take in a little sun, in some cases. Sebastian Telfair slipped away to Hawaii, Juan Dixon and Darius grabbed their wives and headed for Mexico, Sergei Monia and his girlfriend flew to L.A. early and took in Disneyland for the first time. For others, like Joel Przybilla, the all-star break came at the perfect time. As you know by now, Joel and his wife Noelle, gave birth to their first child, Anthony, during the break. By the way, Joel's nagging knee injury will keep him out of the next few games it sounds like. Nothing official yet, but don't expect him back until possibly the weekend or shortly after. There's no timetable on Theo Ratliff's return from his sprained ankle. He is with us here in L.A., but is still hobbling. He is the Blazers' player's union rep and went to the all-star game in Houston to take part in some player's union meetings.

All the players did report back on time, and the team went through an afternoon practice at UCLA. It was a 90 minute workout and it centered mostly on the Trail Blazers, and not the Lakers. That's just to say they're worried more about themselves than the opponent at this time. Nate McMillan talked a lot about getting back to "playing as a team," and said he'd reward minutes to those who were best carrying out those orders.

The Lakers, who lost to Atlanta at home in their final game before the break, will be looking for some revenge tonight. The Trail Blazers beat them in Portland back on January 11th, 113-103. Kobe got his 41 points, but the Blazers shot 52% and outrebounded the Lakers 42-33. Portland's backcourt was fabulous in that win, you might recall. Steve Blake had 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting, dished out 9 assists and didn't have a turnover. Juan Dixon had 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting, and had 6 assists.

Well, we're in L.A. and I usually give a celebrity report here at the hotel. I rode up seven floors with Robert Duvall last year, and saw "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc puffing on a smoke out front. In the gift shop I ran into, literally ran into, Holly Hunter, and saw Mike Tyson waiting for a limo. Nothing like that to report on this trip, I'm sorry to say. But, I did see Walter Cronkite in the lobby last night. He looks pretty good for 90. Oh, and I saw Mike Rice. Then, I took him out on the tennis court and routed him in straight sets (it was windy, the sun was too bright, my knee hurt, blah, blah, blah...).

Tonight, my partner and I will see you at 7:30 on FSN. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have the game, as always, on the Blazers Radio Network, beginning at 6:30 with Game Day. Wheels had a frustrating afternoon yesterday on the flight to L.A. The Sunday newspaper's "Jumble" is always the toughest, and Wheels prides himself on his Jumble skills. I was no help, as usual.

Trail Blazers Take a Break for All-Star Game (2.16.06)

The Trail Blazers 5-game road trip wrapped up last night with the loss in Oklahoma City to the Hornets. Now, it's time for the All-Star break. You can't control your schedule and the Blazers had a tough one right before the break. What makes matters worse is they go into the break on the road and come out of the break, on the road. That means a shorter all-star weekend for the Trail Blazers.

Some of the players scattered after last night's game in Oklahoma City. Some went for a quick shot of the sun at a tropical location, others hit their hometowns, and some returned on the team plane to Portland. The team will get back together on the road Monday in Los Angeles. Tuesday night the Blazers take on the Lakers at the Staples Center. Following that one road game there will be a three-game homestand against Charlotte, Boston, and Oklahoma City (oddly enough, three teams the Blazers played on this road trip).

The blog is taking a few days off for All-Star Weekend. The schedule and travel is a grind and it's great to have a few days without a game. That being said, I'm already looking forward to playing our first game in L.A. this season on Tuesday. And one reminder, we have moved our Courtside Monday Night radio show next week from Monday to Thursday. Thursday is the trade deadline and we thought we'd rather do a show on that day than Monday. We'll have special guests, and possibly some breaking news, as teams make their final moves of the season. That'll be at 6 o'clock Thursday night.

Thanks for your support and for taking the time to stop by the blog. I'll post a new blog Tuesday morning from Los Angeles.

Interesting 2nd Unit (2.15.06)

"Wheels checking in with you on the last stop on this 5-game road trip before the All-Star Break. We're in Oklahoma City where tonight the Blazers will meet the Hornets. New Orleans/Oklahoma City has been one of the pleasant stories in the first half of the NBA season. They were tied for the 2nd worst record in the league last season, and now they'd be the 6th seed in the West if the playoffs began today. That's quite a jump, and most people attribute a good part of their improvement to rookie point guard Chris Paul. He's had a terrific first season, and already is putting up rookie numbers comparable to some of the game's all-time great point guards like Magic, Thomas, and Stockton. Interestingly enough, he's missed the Hornets' last 3 games with bruised ribs, and they've still won them all without him. He hopes to play tonight, though the Blazers wouldn't mind if he took a few more days off to get ready for All-Star Weekend.

The Blazers went through a light practice at the University of Oklahoma in Norman yesterday. Basically they had a refresher course for some plays they used earlier in the season when Darius Miles was healthy. Darius will still come off the bench for at least one more game. In fact, the 2nd unit is an interesting group with Darius, Ruben Patterson, Sebastian Telfair, Jarrett Jack, and at center.....Viktor Khyrapa! Ruben told me after the Charlotte game that he loved this 2nd unit and felt it would force opponents to have to go small to match up with the Blazers. Charlotte tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to do so on Monday night.

As Nate McMillan pointed out to his team at practice, a 2-3 road trip is pretty good and sounds much better than 1-4. A lot of teams start looking ahead to the All-Star Break even before it truly comes around and their minds aren't always on the final game before the upcoming days off. The Blazers will have to guard against that. If they can, they'll have a good chance to beat a Hornets' team that is a season-high 5 games over the .500 mark.

You've come to expect things first on this Barrett Blog, and so once again we've come through with the initial photos of Anthony Przybilla, born to Joel and Noelle during the 2nd quarter of Monday's game. As you would expect, he's a big boy. I'm sure Joel will have him blocking shots before you know it. And yes, Mom and Dad are both doing fine, thank you.

We'll have today's game for you on KXL 750-AM and the Blazers' Radio Network beginning with "Trail Blazers' Game Day" at 4:05 PM, followed by the pre-game show at 4:30, and the tip-off shortly after 5:00. Antonio Harvey and I will be pleased to bring it to you.

Hope you've enjoyed my contributions over these last few days. Thanks to MB for letting me sit in his chair. He'll be back tomorrow with a look back at the Blazers' first 51 games leading into the All-Star Break.

Have a great Wednesday. Talk to you on the radio later this afternoon!"

Darius Returns In Win (2.14.06)

"Hey, it's Wheels checking in with you. Today we've made our way from Charlotte to Oklahoma City. And what a difference a day makes. Yesterday in this very space I wrote about how the Blazers arrived in Charlotte unsure of themselves and their future after 3 disappointing efforts at Indiana, Boston, and Toronto. But they looked like an entirely different team last night, taking care of the Bobcats, 91-83. What a lift they got right before game time when Darius Miles proclaimed himself fit to play, and for the first time in 35 games, play he did. Darius was terrific, scoring 14 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists in just 24 minutes off the bench. He told Antonio Harvey and me on the radio post-game interview that he still didn't have the explosion to the hoop that he normally does, but that it felt good just to get back out there on the court. And he wasn't the only Blazer to contribute. They had 6 men score in double figures, led by Zach Randolph's 21 points. Nate McMillan made a change in his starting lineup. Charles Smith moved to small forward, with Viktor Khyrapa coming in off the bench. The move seemed to help both the starters and the reserves. And let's not forget Ha Seung-Jin, who had his first start in the NBA at center for the injured Theo Ratliff. Ha didn't score, but did pull down 4 rebounds. The Blazers had 26 assists and shot 46% from the field, welcome numbers to see after the last 3 games on the road.

So today it's back to the practice floor as the team gets in a workout at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Quite an impressive campus as you might expect. It's the second time we've been to Oklahoma and the second time we've practiced at the university. Figures to be a spirited workout after the relief of getting a much-needed win last night.

Our congratulations go out to Joel and Noelle Przybilla, proud parents of their first child, Anthony, born yesterday in Portland. Our roving reporter on the scene, Mike Barrett, visited the Przybillas in the hospital and mentioned that mom, dad, and the newest member of the Blazers' family are doing very well. That's good to hear and we're expecting a cigar or two from Joel when he rejoins the team next week for the trip to L.A. on Monday.

Well, this long road trip is heading down the home stretch. I think strength coach Bobby Medina and I will be heading to see Harrison Ford's new movie, "Firewall" tonight to pass the time on our free night in Oklahoma City. I'll check in with you again tomorrow to preview the final game before the All-Star Break against the Hornets. Until then, enjoy your Tuesday. I know we all feel a little better now that the Blazers are back in the win column! Talk to you tomorrow."

Brian Wheeler Guest Blog (2.13.06)

"Hi everyone, Brian Wheeler here, reporting from Charlotte. My good friend, Mike Barrett, went back to Portland along with his partner, Mike Rice, and most of our TV crew since these last few games before the All-Star Break are not being televised. So I've taken on the task of maintaining his high standards on this blog for the next 3 days. He'll be back on Thursday to provide a recap of the season leading into the All-Star Break.

Wish I had better news to report, but as you know, things have taken a turn for the worse for the team over the last week. To think, last Saturday night the ballclub came within an eyelash of upsetting the Nuggets in Denver. Since then, blowout losses at Indiana, at Boston, and last night at Toronto. We always talk about how long the NBA season is, but it's fascinating to see sometimes how the fortunes of a team can change quickly, both for the good and the not so good. Right now Nate McMillan has his most challenging stretch of the season to deal with. He's kept his team competitive for most of the season to date, making these last 3 games all the more puzzling. The players seem to be a bit shell shocked as well. In this very blog last Monday, M.B. told you all about how Steve Blake had mentioned to us on the plane ride back from Denver that this team now expected to win every game it played. Confidence can be a fragile thing, especially with a young team, and I'm not sure they have that same feeling right now.

And of course things have become more difficult with the injury to Theo Ratliff in last night's game. I feared the worst when he went down slamming the floor in pain. Fortunately X-rays were negative, but he still has a severely sprained left ankle, and is being sent home to Portland today for further treatment. As you know, Joel Przybilla was already back in Portland, and hopefully today he and his wife Noelle will be welcoming their first son into the Blazer family. So that leaves Ha Seung-Jin as the only true center left on the road trip. He might even get his first NBA start tonight against the Bobcats depending on how Nate decides to revamp his lineup with Theo unavailable.

And by the way, don't be deceived by the Bobcats' 14-38 record. They've had to battle through some key injuries as of late to some of their young stars like Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace, and Sean May. They won't play tonight, but their starting backcourt of Raymond Felton and Brevin Knight could. They've both been out with injuries as well. This is a Charlotte team that's won 10 games at home in their brand new building, with recent victories here over the Lakers, Sonics, and Sixers.

Well, we'll soon see if the Blazers can stop their slide. They'll have to dig down deep to do so. Let's all find out together, shall we? Antonio and I will have the broadcast, radio only, on KXL and the entire Blazers' Radio Network, beginning with "Trail Blazers' Game Day" at 3:35 PM, the pre-game show at 4:00, and the tip-off shortly after 4:30. Hope you can join us. And let's keep our fingers crossed that I'll have some positive things to talk about in this space tomorrow!"

Adventures In Boston (2.10.06)

Tonight it's game two of this road trip, as the Trail Blazers take on the Boston Celtics. As I've explained before, it's a seven-game trip, but we came home following the Denver game, then play five straight, then have the all-star break, and then have a road game against the Lakers after the break. That makes seven total, but only five consecutive. Confused? And, I don't like to put this kind of pressure on the team, but tonight's game is probably the most winnable road game the Blazers have had this season. It's a game they feel they should, and have to win. Boston is just 4-20 on the road, but is a respectable 14-11 at home.

The Celtics have lost six in a row, and have just lost center Kendrick Perkins for the next couple of weeks to a separated shoulder. So, that means tonight they'll be starting Raef LaFrentz and probably Brian Scalabrine on the front line. Those spots would normally be taken by Al Jefferson, and Perkins, but both are injured. They'll only have 11 players on the active roster and two of them have never scored a basket in an NBA game. Those two players being Gerald Green, and Dwayne Jones. Green, the rookie out of high school, has only played five minutes this season, after spending time in the NBDL, and Jones, who's also been in the NBDL, hasn't played a minute with the varsity yet. All of this being said, the Celtics no doubt are looking at tonight's game as a chance to snap their losing skid.

The Trail Blazers had a good and spirited practice today, and then had the night off. I'm sorry to report that Joel Przybilla will probably not play tonight, and may not play again on this road trip. His right knee has been a problem for a while, and he's frustrated by it. It really bothered him in Indiana on Wednesday, and he was held to only 8 minutes of action. I told you I'd update you on the Przybilla's baby, and I can tell you that it'll likely happen on Monday. That's sooner than expected. I had dinner with Joel last night in Boston, and he gave us the good news (he had a bowl of chowdah). If the team decides to hold him out for the rest of the trip, he'll likely return home to Portland to be with his wife on Saturday. It'll be a good chance for him to rest his knee through the all-star break, and be with his wife during this special time. I stress that it's not certain yet that he won't play tonight, but it's not looking good. This puts pressure on Theo Ratliff, who's been banged up, and the Portland defense, that relies heavily on the shot blocking of Przybilla and Ratliff. Paul Pierce is likely licking his chops as we speak.

It was a beautiful day in Boston yesterday, and as I told you in yesterday's blog, some sightseeing was on the schedule. TV producer Scott Zachry and I walked to Paul Revere's house, and saw the Old North Church (check your history books if you need a refresher. "Two if by sea..."). We thought about riding around Revere's house shouting "the Blazers are coming, the Blazers are coming," but thought better of it. It's sacred ground, and it's in the old Italian area of town. Nothing but Italian restaurants, and thick-necked guys walking around saying, "how you doin', how you doin." It did get me fired up for the new season of the Sopranos. After that, we went with other TV crew members, Jeff Curtin, John Burns, John Lukrofka, and took the Fenway Park tour. We had never seen the historic ballpark, and even though it's February, got a chance to at least visualize a baseball game on the field. They even let us crawl up on the Green Monster and take some pictures. I got a picture leaning on the left field foul pole, right about where Bucky (bleeping) Dent hit his infamous home run in the 1978 playoff game. Lukrofka's comment, "who's Bucky Dent?" The tour guide loved explaining that story. Johnny Damon jerseys were half price, by the way. Burns made the monumental mistake of wearing a stocking cap with a New York Yankees logo on it. Not a wise decision. I'm not sure he even realized the gravity of this blunder until it was nearly too late. He nearly got rolled by some locals who saw him walking down the street. I walked several paces behind him and was ready to run like a sissy boy if things got violent. This was not going to be a guilt-by-association type event. I would have probably even jumped on him and landed a couple of blows if I thought it would defer the chance of the savage horde turning on me. I'm a team guy, but that only goes so far.

There was an NHL game in town last night, and we saw the New Jersey Devils hanging in our hotel before they left for the arena. They took on the Boston Bruins. Brian Wheeler, Mike Rice, and Bob Medina scored tickets and went to the game (don't know who won, and don't really care). At last check Wheels was going to call Janet Jones to see if she'd place a wager for him on the game, but he couldn't get through to her.

Tonight's game against the Celtics will be on FSN, with Rice and I calling the action. It tips off at 4:30 Pacific. Wheels and Antonio will have it on the Blazers Radio Network. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you Monday.

Let's Just Burn The Tape Of That One (2.9.06)

You've heard the old expression "let's just burn the tape of that one" and forget it ever happened. I'm sorry to say this was one of those rare cases for this Trail Blazers team last night. Only problem is, Nate McMillan is not a "burn the tape" kind of guy. He looks for teaching tools in every situation, and never just throws up his arms. So, last night on the flight from Indianapolis to Boston the team was made to watch the game against the Pacers in its entirety. We sit up front, in a different room, and when I saw the Grammys come on the TV, and the channel didn't change, I knew they players must have been watching the game. I peaked around the corner, and sure enough, all eyes were focused on the big screen.

The game against the Pacers was decided in the first two minutes, not unlike the game at Golden State a couple of weeks ago. Everyone gets off to a rough start once in a while, but when you're a young team you just don't have any margin for error. Against the Warriors, the Blazers missed their first 10 shots of the game and did rally in the third quarter to cut the lead to five at one point. Last night it was amazing that Portland was within eight points at halftime. I thought perhaps they would look at that the same way, as in "we don't deserve to be this close" and would capitalize on that early in the third quarter. But, Indiana quickly erased those hopes when they got off to a great start in the third. They put the Blazers away very quickly, and we had a snoozer on our hands. There haven't been many of those lately, and that's a good thing.

The team is going back to work this morning here in Boston. They'll practice, and go over last night's game, and prepare for the Celtics tomorrow night. They had a great practice on Tuesday before the Indiana game, so here's hoping today's practice will be lousy. We talked early in last night's game on TV that they had such a great practice in Indianapolis that it was a little shocking they couldn't get things together early in that game. But, you never know, and this was proof.

For the first time in four years, we've actually got a day off in Boston. We're usually just in and out on a back-to-back and don't have any time in the city. Today we'll actually have some time. I usually like to get out and see some sites, especially in a historic city like this, and today will get that chance. It's cold, but it's clear. We got off the bus last night at the hotel and a very cold wind was whipping. TV producer Scott Zachry said to Viktor Khryapa, "man it's cold." Viktor shrugged his shoulders and said "it much colder in my country." He's from Kiev, Ukraine, of course, and this probably feels like a summer day to him. A few of us are going to walk the Freedom Trail, that winds through Paul Revere's house, and the Old North Church. This afternoon we're going to ride the subway to Fenway Park and possibly take the quick tour. We don't get the chance to be tourists very often, but this afternoon will allow for a little of that.

Yes, I'll hit a Dunkin' Donuts or two along the way. You wouldn't believe how many Dunkin' Donuts there are in this city. Literally, there is one on every corner.

Two Great Interviews on Courtside Monday Night (2.7.06)

By the time you read this we'll be headed for Indianapolis, off on a 5-game road trip that will lead us into the All-Star break. Wednesday night, the Trail Blazers take on the Indiana Pacers, and then Friday play the Celtics in Boston. There's then a back-to-back situation with games in Toronto Sunday, and Charlotte on Monday. The trip wraps up with a game in Oklahoma City against the surprise team of the NBA so far, the Hornets, on Wednesday the 15th. It's an important trip, and there are some winnable games on it for the Blazers. I guess they are all potentially losable games, so take that for what it's worth... probably nothing.

The Trail Blazers practiced yesterday, and last night my TV partner, Mike Rice, and I hosted our radio show Courtside Monday Night. Joining us in the first hour of the show was Chuck Swirsky, the TV voice of the Toronto Raptors. We talked about the trade rumors surrounding his team, and the big Jalen Rose deal that went down last week. This trade, like so many in the NBA, was simply executed to set up something bigger. For the Raptors, according to Swirsky, the something bigger will be signing a center in of the off-season (or, being we're talking about Canada here, I should spell center the way they do.. centre). Toronto no doubt now has its heart set on acquiring Joel Przybilla, and we discussed that last night. Raptors coach Sam Mitchell and Joel are very close, and I predict Toronto will be Portland's biggest competition, come the summer, for Przybilla's services. As it stands right now, thanks to the trade, the Raptors are in a position to offer more money to Joel than Portland will be able to. This of course could change, and will have to change, if Portland hopes to keep him. I think he ends up in one of these two places. Forget everyone else. I think that's why the Rose trade was made. I'm just amazed we haven't heard more people connect the dots here.

As Przybilla fan, I'm worried. I wasn't before the Toronto trade. It just comes down to simple math. That, and their obvious desire to land him. The loyalty card could be played, and will be, because Joel feels he owes Portland a lot for rescuing him two seasons ago. Just how much does he feel he owes Portland? Time will tell. This is huge for the future of this organization. I'll do my part, and fans, don't think players don't listen to you as well. If you want Przybilla to stay, let him know it. You can express this vocally, with signs in the arena, or write him a letter. Address it to Joel Przybilla c/o the Trail Blazers, One Center Court, suite 200, Portland, Oregon, 97227. I can tell you that players read fan mail, I watch them. It's never too early to start. Send him more than one, if you think that will help, and tell your friends to do the same. You guys in the fan forums, get busy. This isn't something I've been asked by the company to tell you, I just know Joel, and know how it would make me feel if I were in his shoes. Everyone wants to be wanted. Fans have a bigger voice than they know in these situations. By the way, Noelle, Joel's wife, is due with their first child in a little over a week. The other Blazer wives held a big shower for her last weekend. If she goes into labor while we're on the road trip, he'll return home to be with her, so don't be surprised if that happens. Coach McMillan is all about putting family first. He's told Joel, when the big day comes, be there with her. I'll keep you up to date. Hopefully the little guy will wait until the all-star break to come into the world. I can already tell you it's going to be a boy, and his name is going to be Anthony Joel. You can include a "congratulations on the baby" in your letter to him. I'll bug them for a photo and try and include it in the blog after the birth.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan joined us in the second hour of last night's show. If you missed our interview with Nate you can click on the link over on the right and you can hear it. If you have a few minutes it's worth it.

I first asked Nate about the painful loss in Denver, and he said he made the team watch the entire fourth quarter yesterday before practice. He said it was tough to take and that "you should hurt" after a loss like that. We talked about the Blazers' second-to-last possession, up one point with the ball. Jarrett Jack ended up getting picked by Andre Miller, who went the distance for the game-winning lay in. Nate said Jarrett took it very hard, and said it reminded him of his first playoff game his rookie season, when Dallas' Derek Harper stole the ball from him about three times in the game. Nate said he didn't sleep at all that night, but that it made him better in the long run. He told the story to Jarrett. Nate has a great way of relaying his own experiences to his players in order to help them learn, and instill confidence at the same time. During practice yesterday Nate had the team work in situations where they had to protect the ball and work against the clock.

We also asked McMillan about Darius Miles. Miles went through his second full practice yesterday and is joining us on this road trip. He plans to return in the first game following the all-star break, the game against the Lakers, in L.A., on the 21st. We talked about the adjustments the team will have to make getting Darius back. McMillan said he simply has to fit in, and will. In other words, he won't stand for anything else.

Rice asked Nate about the Sonics current situation, being tied with the Blazers now in the loss column, and Nate had some very interesting things to say. I thought he'd just give us a generic answer, and not choose to really answer it. I was wrong. Listen to the interview to hear what Nate said.

Our final guest last night was Sports Illustrated NBA writer Marty Burns. He was good, as always, and we threw some trade rumors at him. I gave him three trades that have been kicked around in the media, and asked him to give me the one he thinks most likely will happen. I asked him to pick either Drew Gooden to Chicago, Steve Francis to Denver, or Theo Ratliff to New York, which is talked about every day in the New York press. Without hesitation Burns said "Ratliff to New York." He then explained his answer by saying, "anything that has New York involved, I'll say is the most likely to happen." So, don't read too much into that answer. It's just a guess. But, is interesting, nonetheless.

I'll see you on TV on Wednesday night when we televise the Blazers game against Indiana. It's at 5 o'clock on FSN. Friday's game against Boston is also on FSN. All the games on the road trip can also be heard on the Trail Blazers Radio Network with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey.

"We Expect To Win Every Game" (2.6.06)

We were flying back from Denver late Saturday night, disappointed by the last-second loss to the Nuggets. Sitting in a room near the front of our plane, me, Mike Rice, Brian Wheeler, Antonio Harvey, TV producer Scott Zachry, and TV director Chris McMurtry, were going over every single minute of the game, as we always do. On this particular flight the conversation was spirited, and we were all giving our versions of different plays and different moments of the game. Being we're all working during the game, it's nice to have a chance to pour over things in detail, and we had a solid two and a-half hours to do this following the Denver game.

Now and then a Blazer player will stroll up front and join us in our area. Saturday night, Steve Blake came up to sit with us and join in the conversation. After hearing his thoughts and version of the events that had transpired down the stretch of the tough loss, Blake paused, and said, "man, there's not a game we go into anymore that we don't expect to win." I spent the next few minutes thinking about how much has changed this season, and how proud of this team I am. The loss to the Nuggets was brutal, and was maybe the toughest loss to swallow yet, but in reality, perhaps no one but Steve and the team expected Portland to win that game. Everything was stacked against the Blazers in this game, yet, they were in a position to win it up five with just over a minute left. Rather than continue to dwell on the events that led up to the loss, I started thinking about all the things that went right, and have been going right for this team.

The excuses were everywhere for this team going into the Denver game. As I reminded viewers several times during the game, we didn't even get into our hotel rooms until almost 4 o'clock in the morning the night before the game. We had just beaten Minnesota, a satisfying win, and were taking on a Denver team that had lost four in a row, was returning home, had been off for three days, and was getting Marcus Camby back in the lineup. The situation was ripe for an easy Denver win. It didn't happen that way. Following the game, a Denver assistant coach told Rice in the hallway, "you guys outplayed us twice in the last 10 days, and deserved to win both games." That doesn't perhaps ease the pain of either loss, but at least for me, helps put things into perspective about our expectations of this team.

The game in Denver was the first of seven in a row away from home for the Blazers. And, we got the good news a couple of weeks ago, that rather than flying straight to Indiana following the Nuggets game, we were going to get to come home before leaving for Indiana on Tuesday. I've talked a lot about how difficult the travel can be, and a couple of extra days at home is always terrific news. Not until you travel through an NBA schedule do you begin to appreciate a night of sleep in your own bed, in familiar surroundings. I say that and I'm just a broadcaster. I can't imagine how good that feels as a player.

So, the team practiced at their own facility on Sunday, and will again on Monday, before leaving for Indiana early Tuesday morning. This will be five straight, then the all-star break, and then a road game against the Lakers. This five-game stretch will have us playing Indiana, Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, and Oklahoma City. Is winning three of those five realistic? I think so. Of course, as Blake will tell you, they will expect to win all five.

Tonight, Rice and I will have our radio show, Courtside Monday Night, (KXL-AM 750 in the Portland area, and on the Blazers Radio Network) beginning at 6 o'clock. Tune in and join us if you can, and if you can't, I'll give you links to some of the interviews in tomorrow's blog so you can hear them.

KG Tonight, D-Miles Saturday? (2.3.06)

The first thing I do when preparing for a game is dig out the box score from the previous meeting. I didn't even have to do it today, as I remember the last meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves very well. So does Nate McMillan. In that ballgame on December 23rd, Nate took one for the team, and was ejected early in the third quarter. I'm sure he wasn't proud of getting run in Minnesota, but his team responded, and the Blazers, behind lead assistant coach Dean Demopolous, got a hard-fought 91-83 win at the Target Center. Tonight, is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the teams. It's kind of strange to wrap up a 4-game season series with a team before the all-star break, but that's just how the schedule worked out this season.

The key stat in the Blazers win over Minnesota is easy to find when looking at the final box. Portland out rebounded Minnesota 47 to 30. We always talk about the effort categories, and rebounding is number one on that list. The Blazers manhandled the Wolves in the second half of that game, and then followed that win up with a victory in Sacramento over the Kings. Minnesota, by the way, is 6-17 when they get out rebounded.

You wouldn’t think Zach Randolph would save his most solid efforts for games when he goes up against Kevin Garnett, but it's worked out that way this season. Zach has three double-doubles in the three games against the Timberwolves. In the Blazers win in the last meeting, Zach had 21 points and 10 rebounds. He shared player-of-the-game honors with Ruben Patterson. Ruben had 23 points off the bench, and put the game away with several huge drives down the stretch.

This will be interesting tonight, because this is an entirely different Minnesota team now, following the big trade last week. Ricky Davis is in the starting lineup, and Marcus Banks and Mark Blount, the other former Boston Celtics play key roles off the bench. And, Wally Sczcerbiak, who always seems to save his best games for Portland, is now in Boston.

The Trail Blazers returned to the practice floor on Thursday, and it was nice to see Darius Miles go just about full speed through the entire practice. He's very close to getting back on the active roster, but will probably still wait until after the all-star break. They don't want to rush him back, and it's nice to see Miles lobbying to return right now. He was hoping to make the trip to Denver tonight following the game, and be in the lineup on Saturday night. But, it looks like the team will play it cautious and wait until probably the game against the Lakers on the 21st. It's a big adjustment anytime a player returns to the lineup, especially when it's a player like Miles. I do look forward to seeing him play alongside Steve Blake and Juan Dixon, who move the ball so well.

Speaking of Saturday night, we leave following the game tonight for Denver. This is always one of the toughest back-to-backs Portland has. It's a pretty long flight and you lose an hour on the way. This is especially the case this time, because of the 7:30 start tonight due to ESPN televising the game nationally (we'll be televising the game as well, on FSN). When national TV is in the house, the start time usually gets pushed back, the time outs are longer, halftime is longer, and it means for a much longer game. We'll get out of town later than usual, and the drive from the Denver airport to downtown is not short. I figure we'll be into our hotel rooms by about 3 o'clock in the morning tonight. You then turn around and face the altitude, an earlier start than usual, and a pretty good team in the Nuggets. I'm not trying to build in excuses ahead of time, I'm just giving you the facts. Hopefully the players can get some sleep on the plane. For some reason I never can, and have never been able to. It's not like the seat is not comfortable enough (if you saw it, you'd know what I'm talking about).

Tonights game is the final home game for almost three weeks. We have the Denver game, then get to come home for a couple of days, before heading to Indiana, Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, and Oklahoma City. The all-star break follows the game against the Hornets, and then we're in L.A. against the Lakers on the 21st. The next home game, following tonights is on the 22nd, against Charlotte. This is a brutal stretch that's about to begin. But, if you're looking for someone to feel sorry for you, you're in the wrong business.

Again, we'll have the game tonight on FSN at 7:30. The pre-game show starts at 7. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have it on KXL 750 AM in Portland, and on the Blazers Radio Network. Saturday night's game in Denver is back on KGW-8 in Portland, and the Blazers Television Network around the Northwest.

Tough Game vs Champs (2.2.06)

The theme of the night after the game seemed to be, the Blazers played well enough to win, could have won, and therefore had to be happy for coming so close to the world champs. Well, that's only partly true. If you heard any of the post-game comments from the Blazers, including those of coach Nate McMillan, you know they're beyond ever feeling good after a loss. That's a good thing. That shows how far this team has come, and how mentally they expect to be in every game, and are demanding more from themselves.

As fans we can look for moral victories and point out positives after losses, but the team left the building last night feeling they let one slip away. They did take San Antonio to the wire, and even held the lead on a couple of occasions down the stretch, the last coming with six minutes left when they went on top 71-69. But, the Spurs answered with a mini-run of their own and won this game at the foul line, 86-82.

Several of the Trail Blazers were asked after the game about the officiating, and were led into questions that gave them the opportunity to point fingers at the refs. A couple of players addressed it, but every single player came back to put the loss on themselves. Nate McMillan did refer to the Spurs getting most of the breaks, and calls down the stretch, and he was right. No team complains more to the officials, and no team gets more calls late in games. I've heard Rasheed Wallace called the ultimate whiner in the game, but Manu Ginobili has a solid lead in this department. I respect the heck out of his game, but can't stand watching him complain, look to the officials to bail him out, and flop all over the court on every drive to the hoop. He's an elite player and doesn't need to do that. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and he is amazingly squeaky on the court. It's difficult to watch.

The officials didn't decide this game. True, there were several huge calls late that went to San Antonio. But, the NBA has always been known for "reputation calls" and you just have to expect it and not lose your head over it. I thought the Trail Blazers stayed amazingly composed in some tough situations last night. McMillan, in his post-game press conference complimented his players for keeping their heads when they could have really come apart at the crew calling the game. Young teams aren't going to get the benefit of the doubt very often, and you just deal with it. The Blazers do a great job of following the lead of their coach.

In the end, San Antonio shot 37 free throws, to Portland's 24. That's a pretty big difference. The Blazers actually attempted nine more field goals in the game, and still lost. That doesn't happen very often. We expected the Blazers to shoot under their average percentage wise, and did, shooting just 37 percent. The Spurs do that to a lot of teams, and play the best halfcourt defense in the league.

I was especially impressed with Zach Randolph tonight. In the first matchup with the Spurs, he struggled against Tim Duncan and ended up 1 for 14 shooting. It was much the same in the first half last night. But, rather than getting frustrated, Zach battled back in the second half and was the reason the Blazers were in the game at the end. He ended 9 for 26, with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Juan Dixon was hounded by one of the best defenders in the NBA, Bruce Bowen, and struggled through a 3 for 15 night. Still, Dixon ended with 10 points, making it 22 straight games that he's scored in double figures.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, and several of his players, complimented the Trail Blazers after the game. Popovich talked about Nate McMillan and how he has the team believing and growing. Ginobili said you can't go up against the Blazers now and just expect to cruise to a win. These were nice things to hear, but the Portland players would have much rather have heard San Antonio talking about coming up short against this young Portland team.

The new-look Minnesota Timberwolves come to town tomorrow night. It's a 7:30 start, and we'll be televising it on FSN, beginning at 7 with the pre-game show. It's your last chance to see the Blazers at home for a while. The next home game, following tomorrow night's is not until February 22nd. That's seven straight on the road, following tomorrow night.

Keys For Tonight (2.1.06)

The 116 points the Trail Blazers scored on Monday at Seattle were a season high. If they score 116 tonight, my partner, Mike Rice, will shave his head (I'll let him know about this pledge I've volunteered him for later). The San Antonio Spurs are the opponent tonight at the Rose Garden, and they haven't given up over 110 points in a game this season. Their opponents average about 89 points per game. They held Utah to 70 points on Monday night. It's certainly not as entertaining to watch, but it's effective. It's much more fun to watch, and call, a game like Monday's win over the Sonics, because of the up and down pace. That being said, these are the world champs, and I know you'll have us on tonight, (6:30 pre-game, 7:00 tip KGW-8 in Portland, Blazers Television Network, League Pass. And, Wheels and Tone will have the game on the Blazers Radio Network).

Last night Rice and I hosted a special edition of Courtside Monday Night. No, we don't change the name when it's on a Tuesday, but perhaps should. Blazers player personnel Kevin Pritchard stopped by the studio and joined us for the first half-hour of the show. We talked about Monday's win, Nate's coaching job in that game, Martell Webster, possible trades, and other stuff. Click on the link to the right to listen to the interview. We've got great guests on Courtside and we're going to start making the interviews available to you right on this page, so look for that (I'll remind you as well).

What is the key to tonight's game? That's a basic question, and I've got a very basic answer- effort. You can track effort in a couple of different categories on a stat page. It's not the only place you can get an indicator for it, but it's the first place I look. Rebounding, offensive rebounding, and second-chance points. Seattle came into Monday's game the 10th best rebounding team in the league, but were dominated on the boards 47-33. The Blazers pulled down 20 offensive rebounds, and outscored the Sonics 29-16 in second chance points. I know I touched on this yesterday, but it's worth repeating.

One of the other big keys, as always, is Zach Randolph. It was before the game in San Antonio on January 4th, that coach McMillan told me he wasn't going to shy away from giving Zach tough matchups defensively. In other words, he wasn't going to attempt to conserve Zach's energy by not making him guard Tim Duncan. Tonight I suspect it'll be the same thing. That's a tough matchup for Zach, who's much smaller than Duncan. It doesn't mean he can't be effective tonight, but don't look for him to get 32 points again.

There are two home games this week before the team hits the road for 7 straight. San Antonio tonight, and Minnesota Friday. And, it may sound daunting, the 7 straight on the road, but it's not really that we're gone for 7 in a row. We fly to Denver following Friday's game, and take on the Nuggets Saturday. That'll be brutal, because we won't get to the hotel in Denver until about 3 am, and then play that night. Then we come home for a couple of days before heading for Indiana. The last game on the trip is actually on the other side of the all-star break. So, it's basically, a 1-game trip, a 5-game trip, and then a game in L.A. against the Lakers right after the break. It's still 7 in a row away from home, but it's better than being out on the road for 14 straight days. I know that's looking ahead, but we can do that. It's the players who take it one at a time.

This Was a Good Night... (1.31.06)

This was a good night. It was a good night for the team, good night for the fans, the company, the players, and most of all for the head coach. I've just returned from the airport following our short flight home, and I can't begin to tell you how much more enjoyable the flights are following wins. I know that probably sounds like the obvious statement of the year, but it's so true. I realize most fans flip the TV or radio off following a game, and then you go on with your lives, of course. We wrap up our broadcasts, usually stroll through the locker room, wait for the team, take the bus to the airport, board, eat dinner, and talk about the game. I don't mean to say the players were giddy tonight, it was just a good atmosphere. Probably as good as it has been all season.

It was a very classy move by the Sonics organization to honor Nate the way they did tonight. When the coaches walked to the court they played a video recapping Nate's career in Seattle, and the standing ovation was so loud you couldn't hear the video feature. I know it meant a lot to Nate. I asked him during our TV pre-game show if the players realized what this game meant to him emotionally. I got to ask him that same question following the game when he joined me on the court. It was great to see him beaming with pride following a great performance.

This Sonics team has been playing very well as of late, and played a good game tonight. They shot 51 percent, were 8 for 16 from behind the three-point line, and turned the ball over only 13 times. The Trail Blazers simply outplayed them. Portland shot 52 percent, out rebounded them 47-33, and recorded 24 assists and only 14 turnovers. Zach Randolph bounced back after two subpar efforts, and recorded 32 points on 14 of 24 shooting.

Joel Przybilla was my other post-game guest, and really set the tone in this one. Joel, who ended with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, manhandled Seattle’s young center Robert Swift and 2 blocked shots. The defensive effort of the night belonged to rookie Jarrett Jack, who once again showed his versatility. He played the entire fourth quarter, and was in Ray Allen's shirt. Allen still had 11 points in the quarter, but was hounded by Jack, and wasn't allowed to take the game over like we've seen him do.

The biggest stat of the game, in my mind, was second chance points. The Blazers beat the Sonics in this category 29-16. Portland recorded 20 offensive rebounds, against a Seattle team that's a good rebounding team. Zach and Joel combined for 9 offensive boards, and Theo and Ruben each had 3. Patterson's biggest board came on a tip dunk late in the fourth quarter. Zach's biggest was a tip in off a miss that really broke Seattle's back.

We landed tonight at the airport minutes after the San Antonio Spurs, and saw them climbing off their plane (our plane looks like a cruise liner compared to theirs, by the way. Take wins where you can get them). The Blazers and Spurs battle Wednesday night at the Rose Garden. I don't think the Blazers will reach the 116 point mark again. San Antonio held Utah to 70, in Salt Lake City tonight.

Greetings From Seatle (1.30.06)

Greetings from Seattle, where the Trail Blazers take on the Sonics tonight at Key Arena. Obviously, the story getting the most attention here is the fact that tonight will be Nate McMillan's first-ever game here with an opposing team. The best part for him is likely the fact that he was able to spend a couple of nights with his family. He is a commuter dad right now, and that's been tough. Lead assistant coach Dean Demopolous still hasn't yet moved his family to Portland either, and also has had a chance to see his kids on this visit. I'll be curious to see what kind of reception Nate gets tonight when he's introduced. He was such a big part of the Sonics for so many years, I assume most of the fans will greet him warmly, but there will no doubt be some who will be in the spirit of the rivalry and may give him a hard time. Nate will join us for a one-on-one during the pre-game show tonight on KGW-8 at 6:30.

This game is getting some media attention up here, amid the Seahawkmania. Nearly every window in downtown Seattle has a Seahawk sign, or flag, or poster, or something. Convenience stores are selling Super Bowl shirts, and the local papers are just about wall-to-wall Seahawks info. They held a pep rally yesterday for the team and a send off, as they left for Detroit. A huge crowd turned out, despite the horrible weather. With the Super Bowl traditionally held in warm climates, fans traveling to Detroit will probably long for the rain by the time the week is over.

The Blazers spent part of the day, yesterday, out at owner Paul Allen's house. The players were looking forward to that. With the Seahawks in the big game, Allen could probably run for mayor up here right now.

The team is coming off Saturday's loss at Golden State, which was a pretty close game for three of the four quarters. It just so happens the first quarter was the lopsided one, and therefore put the team in a miserable position. I always feel it's stating the obvious in a broadcast to talk about how important the first few possessions of a ballgame are, but Saturday was a great example of that. The Blazers missed their first couple of shots, Golden State got out to a quick lead, and it got very ugly in that first quarter. The Blazers ended up going without a field goal for the first six and a-half minutes of the quarter, and trailed by 16 in the first. Things are tough enough on a young team, confidence wise, on the road. Getting off to a start like that was not what this team needed, especially against a Golden State team that had lost four in a row and was without Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy.

The Sonics are starting to turn the corner under new head coach Bob Hill. They're just 5 and 8 since he took over, but have recorded some impressive wins in the last week. There was their 113-94 victory at Utah, the throwback 152-149 win at Phoenix, and Saturday they beat New Jersey at home 113-104. The two players who've benefited the most from the coaching change have been Luke Ridnour, and Robert Swift. Ridnour's career high, before the coaching change, was 16. He's now exceeded 16 points in 7 of the last 8 games. He had 20 points and 13 assists in the win over the Nets. Swift, the second-year player out of high school, wasn't getting a sniff with Bob Weiss running the team, but had 14 points and 12 rebounds against the Nets. The Sonics are actually 3 and 1 with Swift in the starting lineup. The player who's suddenly totally out of the rotation is Reggie Evans. He hasn't played at all in the last 3 games and could very likely be traded before the deadline. He's already asked to be moved.

This will be the second meeting this season between these two teams. Back on December 16th, the Sonics beat the Blazers in Portland 111-99. It wasn't that close. Seattle led by as many as 33 in the first half. Rashard Lewis had 20 points in the first quarter alone and ended with 37. The amazing thing about that game was that the Blazers shot 59 percent. The teams combined to shoot 20 for 35 on three pointers. Not much defense in that game.

So, I'm working on my game prep last night in my hotel room, flipping around on the TV at the same time, and landed on the E Channel (not a normal stop for me, by the way). They're doing their red carpet pre-Screen Actors Guild Awards show. I heard Eva Longoria being interviewed and looked over to see boyfriend Tony Parker by her side. I immediately looked on the computer to see where the Spurs are right now. They're in Utah, where they kick off an 8-game road trip tonight. So, I guess Parker must have grabbed a quick flight to L.A. and then probably flew back late last night. I know it's Eva we're talking about here, but does anyone else find that a little strange? The Spurs are just so normally all business, and so focused, and this just seems like something that would make coach Gregg Popovich uncomfortable. He must have signed off on Parker making the trip, and must have been okay with it, but it just seems a little weird. Off the subject, is Ryan Seacrest over 5'6"? Parker is not a big guy, but looked like Yao Ming standing next to him.

Again, tonight's game is at 7 o'clock, and will be on KGW-8 in the Portland area. We'll have the pre-game at 6:30. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have it on the Blazers Radio Network.

Remember Uncle Cliffy? (1.27.06)

The Trail Blazers wrap up their longest homestand of the season tonight against the New Jersey Nets. What an odd eight games it has been. The homestand started with a thrashing at the hands of the Miami Heat, and was followed by four straight wins. They've followed the winning streak with back-to-back heartbreaking losses to two of the west's hottest teams, Dallas and Denver. There are a lot of positives that can be taken from the homestand, but in the end, the only thing they want now is a winning record. They can finish the homestand 5 and 3 with a victory tonight.

The Nets were just 9-12 in their first 21 games, but have gone 13-6 since then. But, they're out west now and that means trouble for teams from the east. New Jersey was held to 77 points in the opening game of the trip in a loss at Utah, and could only manage 78 points in a loss to the Clippers on Wednesday. More troubling for them, Vince Carter left Wednesday's game late in the third quarter with a lower back injury. He's been fighting it in the last few games, but it got worse against the Clippers. He's listed as questionable for tonight's game. Here's hoping the back gets better... tomorrow.

In that first game of the trip for the Nets, Jason Kidd recorded a triple double in the loss at Utah. That was triple-double number 70 for Kidd in his career and that is good for 4th on the all-time list. Oscar Robertson recoreded 181 triple-doubles in his career, Magic Johnson 138, and Wilt Chamberlain did it 78 times. So, it's likely Kidd will end his career third all time. By the way, he's got 2 career triple-doubles against Portland.

Tonight also marks the return of Clifford Robinson to Portland, where he began his NBA career back in 1989 (only then we all knew him as Cliff, or Uncle Cliffy). He was on two Western Conference Championship teams in Portland, and some people forget he was part of the good ol' days here. He played eight seasons here and even averaged 21.3 points per game in the 1994-95 season. Cliff is currently in his 17th NBA season, which is the most for any player currently in the NBA (Gary Payton is in his 16th). Robinson is also the second-oldest player in the league, and will turn 40 next December. He's older than New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank. Dikembe Mutombo is the oldest player in the league, but is only in his 15th season. I know, you're getting a lot of useless trivia today. Impress your friends at lunch.

I mentioned above that Portand would love to end this homestand with a win. It's very vital they do when you look at the upcoming schedule. Any time you get an 8-game homestand, you know you're going to pay for it soon after, and the Blazers will. After tonight, 9 of their next 11 games are on the road. We play at Golden State Saturday, Seattle Monday, then are home for two games, San Antonio and Minnesota, and then hit the road for 7 straight.

Speaking of Minnesota, they made a big trade yesterday. Wally Sczcerbiak is now a Boston Celtic, and Ricky Davis gets thrown to the Wolves. There are others involved, like Michael Olowokandi, but Wally and Davis are main players. Olowokandi has been a big bust in Minnesota after getting a rather large deal. He becomes a free agent after the season, so his time in Boston may be very short. His expiring contract had to be a very attractive piece of this trade for Danny Ainge.

I'm not really sure why Kevin McHale decided to make this deal. Does it really improve the Timberwolves that much? It kind of makes me think Kevin Garnett may have had something to do with the deal. He and Wally have reportedly always rubbed each other the wrong way. McHale cited chemistry issues as being a big reason for the trade. And, didn't they just get rid of Latrell Sprewell? Ricky Davis has been known as a difficult guy to coach, and doesn't have the greatest reputation. This kind of just sounds like a trade to make a trade, and McHale hinted at as much yesterday when he said, "we just had to shake it up a bit." I think Boston got the better end of it, and Wally seems like a Celtic-type guy. He could fit in with Paul Pierce rather nicely. Does this mean we can forget about Pierce being on the block?

I'll see you tonight on TV, when the Blazers take on the Nets. It begins at 6:30 on FSN with the pre-game show, and tip off is at 7. Saturday's game against Golden State is on KGW, and so is Monday's at Seattle. As always, Wheels and Tone will have the games on KXL-750 AM in the Portland area, and on the Trail Blazers Radio Network.

This One Stung (1.26.06)

It's pretty hard to swallow when you hold the lead in a game for 46:25 of a possible 48:00 and lose it. That's what happened to the Trail Blazers last night. The Denver Nuggets didn't take their first lead of the night until the 2:45 mark of the 4th quarter. That only lasted 22 seconds. Juan Dixon buried a 3-pointer and the Blazers reclaimed a two-point lead. Then with 1:13 left, Greg Buckner hit a 3-pointer to break a 94-94 tie, and that was the rest of the scoring in the game. Denver won it 97-94, for their seventh-straight victory, and 9th in their last 10 games.

We've talked so many times about moral victories this season, but this one stung because it was snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. You have to be encouraged by the fact that the Blazers shot 51 percent against Denver's scrappy, trapping defense, and kept bouncing back and responding to Denver's runs in the game. Twice the Blazers allowed the Nuggets to tie the score, once at 37-37, and again at 71-71, and both times were able to rebuild double-digit leads. That was a very positive sign. They kept responding to Nate during timeouts and would really execute for stretches.

The key for young teams is sustaining positive momentum, and consistency. You've got to play like the game is tied even when you're up 10. If the Blazers do that last night, they walk out with a victory. Last night they led by 12 on a couple of occasions and appeared ready to close the door. But, that was also the case in the games against Orlando, Cleveland, Toronto, and the Lakers on this homestand. The difference was, they were able to hang on by their fingernails and win those games. In this game, they simply kept leaving the door open for Denver and your margin for error is cut to zero.

The Blazers are now 4-3 on this homestand, and it comes to a close on Friday night against New Jersey. A 5-3 record would be acceptable, but 4 and 4 would be disappointing. One big key on Friday will be if Vince Carter plays or not. He's been bothered by a bad back, and left last night's game against the Clippers in the third quarter. I know fans will want to see Vince on Friday, but having him take the night off wouldn't hurt my feelings.

By the way, the blocked shot of the year, and in my opinion, the dunk of the year, both came by the same guy last night, just moments apart. Theo Ratliff snuffed Kenyon Martin on a dunk attempt, with a left-handed block. Then, Juan Dixon lobbed the ball into a crowd and Theo rose above everyone, was practically looking down through the hoop, and slammed the ball in with one hand. It was as impressive an athletic play as I've ever seen Ratliff make. Too bad both plays came in a loss.

Delivering The Hard-Hitting News... (1.25.06)

Tonight the Trail Blazers have a chance to guarantee themselves a winning record on their longest homestand of the season. Following the overtime loss to Dallas on Sunday, the Blazers are now 4 and 2 on the homestand with two left- Denver tonight, and New Jersey on Friday.

Sunday the Blazers had a chance to end Dallas' 4-game winning streak, and tonight will get the opportunity to end Denver's 6-game winning streak. The Nuggets have turned things around in the new year and following an 8-8 November, and a 6-9 December, are 10 and 2 this month. The current streak includes a 89-85 win at San Antonio on Sunday. They did this despite getting just 20 points from Carmelo Anthony, who is averaging 26 per game this season. He bounced back Monday with 37 in their win over Toronto. It'll be a tough assignment for Viktor Khryapa, who fouled out against Dallas Sunday after grabbing 10 rebounds in the game.

Another matchup to watch tonight will be Steve Blake versus Earl Watson. Blake is coming off a season-high 20 against Dallas, including 16 straight points in the 4th quarter and overtime, but it'll be tougher tonight. Not only will he be facing the lightning-quick Watson, but this is the NBA and if you do something great one night, be rested assured your next opponent saw it, will prepare for it, and will set up a game plan to stop you. Juan Dixon, who has scored in double figures in 17 straight games will have to be on for Portland to have a chance. Zach Randolph will also face a big challenge inside, with Kenyon Martin, who's playing very well, and is a tenacious defender.

The Trail Blazers practiced on Tuesday, and it was another solid workout. The team went through its usual practice plan, and went over their strategy against Denver. I talked to Joel Przybilla last night and he said the team is feeling very confident despite the loss on Sunday. Right after the talk of practice Joel turned the topic to what is upcoming for him. I'm not talking about his baby that is due in mid February, but his first baby, his English Bulldog Beanie, who is due in town tomorrow with his in-laws. Beanie can't fly, so his wife's parents are driving out from Milwaukee and are due into Portland later this afternoon. I was in Milwaukee with Joel this summer and can tell you that Beanie rules the house. I suspect it'll be much the same when the road-weary pooch arrives today. Nothing but hard-hitting news in this blog.

We'll find out today if the big Ron Artest-to-Sacramento trade is indeed off. The news came down early yesterday that the Kings were sending Peja Stojakovic to Indiana for Artest. Soon after that, reportedly, Artest said he had no interest in playing with the Kings. Sacramento caught wind of this, and understandably, backed out of the deal. So, the Pacers support Artest following the incident in Detroit last season, out of nowhere he demands a trade this season, is put on the inactive list while they scour the league for deals, and when they finally get one done, he ruins it. What a nightmare for Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh.

Not only has this been a huge distraction for the Pacers, who are struggling to stay over the .500 mark, but the Kings last night held Stojakovic out of their game at Philadelphia, wondering if the trade would happen, and lost. Indiana was blown out at Cleveland last night 96-66. Not only has Artest been a constant headache to the Pacers, he potentially cost the Kings a game as well last night by pulling this garbage and ruining this trade. And what's the emotional impact on Peja and the Kings? He was packing his bags, ready to leave the team he's spent his entire career with. Now, he just returns and life goes on?

The amazing thing is, there are still teams lining up at the opportunity to acquire Artest. Yes, I know he's talented, but you talk about baggage. And, keep in mind, Artest has simply been on the inactive list, something the NBA hasn't liked, but has tolerated, and he's still been getting his paycheck. Today's incident is another blow to the Pacers, who now have to go back to the drawing board in trying to get this nut case moved. You would think the other teams in line to trade for Artest would be possibly scared away, even more than they already were, by this. Reportedly, the Pacers will try and get a hold of Artest today to find out what the heck he's thinking. Likely, soon, someone will take him. It's just a matter of more time for the poor Pacers.

Updates on Darius, Martell, and Sergei (1.24.06)

The Trail Blazers returned to the practice floor Monday morning, following Sunday night's overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. There were no real surprises at practice, but I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised with how well Darius Miles seems to be progressing in his rehab from knee surgery. He took part in some of the drills, and even though he wasn't going full speed, was moving very well, and even threw down a couple of dunks on some post up moves. He isn't wearing anything on his surgically repaired knee, and looks to be quickly getting back to full strength.

Following practice several reporters asked him about his practice and he said he's got a long way to go in getting back into game shape, but is happy to be back on the floor. He said he's happy the team is playing well and isn't going to rush it and take any chances in hurrying back. Miles says he's still thinking that his first game back could be the February 21st game against the Lakers, the first game following the All-Star break.

The team appeared to be in good spirits despite the disappointing loss on Sunday to the Mavs. In one particular half-court trapping exercise, coach Nate McMillan took turns defending Zach Randolph and Theo Ratliff. He was just applying defensive pressure in the post. On one occasion, Randolph was backing Nate down and trying to gain position. McMillan decided to use the pull-the-chair-out-from-under-Randolph move, and Zach fell for it, literally. Zach moved back quickly, expecting to feel pressure, and when Nate moved, Zach fell flat on his rear end in the middle of the key. Zach was heckled by the entire team and climbed to his feet laughing. The old dog was definitely teaching some new tricks.

Steve Blake joined Mike Rice and me on our radio show "Courtside Monday Night" last night. We talked about Steve scoring 16 straight points against the Mavericks, and how he was doing his best Kobe impersonation. Blake, who's incredibly humble, said he was just trying to do whatever it took to get the win. It was an amazing performance that saw him hit three straight three pointers to send the game to overtime. As I said yesterday, Blake's mother was in attendance, and got a huge thrill out of seeing her son in the hero's role. Steve told us it was the first time she had seen him in person with the Blazers, and she returned home on Monday morning. Blake also said, looking back, he's very happy he chose to sign with the Trail Blazers in the off-season and that everything in the NBA is about timing. He's certainly made the most of this opportunity.

We also spoke with Blazers scout Bill Bayno, who is with Martell Webster and Sergei Monia in Fort Worth while they spend time with the Flyers of the NBDL. Bayno's love is player development and he filled us in on what the players have been up to since being sent down. He said the players have great attitudes and are doing what they can in a difficult situation for them. Bayno told us Martell has been terrific, and has been requesting extra work above and beyond what the Flyers are doing in practice. Bayno said it has even surprised him. He knows Martell very well, and coached him last summer in the Las Vegas Summer League. Player personnel director Kevin Pritchard is flying to Fort Worth this morning to spend some time with Martell and Sergei. On next week's radio show we plan to speak with Bayno and Pritchard to get another update. Next week's "Courtside" is on Tuesday night from 7 to 9pm. We play at Seattle on Monday, and we're pushing it back to a 7pm start time because of President Bush's speech.

The next 9 games are all on TV, by the way. Wednesday's game against Denver, and Friday's against New Jersey are on Fox Sports Net, and Saturday's at Golden State, and Monday's game at Seattle are on KGW-8. All off the games are, of course, on the Blazers Radio Network with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey.

What A Night: Overtime, Superbowl, 81 Points... (1.23.06)

What a night for Steve Blake's mother to be in attendance. It's just too bad the Trail Blazers couldn't hang on for the win. Blake brought the Blazers back from a 10-point deficit with three straight three-pointers, the last coming with 3.8 seconds left. He even scored Portland's first bucket of overtime, but in the end it wasn't enough, as Dallas hung on for the victory, snapping the Blazers four-game winning streak. Still, Blake ended with 20 points and the Trail Blazers showed a gritty attitude in coming back on one of the NBA's hottest teams.

A Blazer win would have ended a perfect day for owner Paul Allen. He hoisted the NFC Championship trophy earlier in the evening at Qwest Field in Seattle, and would have loved to have seen his young Blazers pull out a win over the mighty Mavericks. Still, I thought it was a good sign that the Blazers took Dallas to overtime without playing their best. The first quarter, and first half, was a struggle for Portland, and nothing came easily in this game. They've been winning, but have been losing big leads, and then have been coming through to hang on in the clutch. Last night was different, as they were forced to be the team coming from behind. The Mavericks took their biggest lead of the night, 10, with seven minutes left. The Blazers battled back, behind Blake and Dixon, to force the overtime period.

What a night around the NBA. Kobe's 81 points highlighted everything of course. A Portland win, coupled with a Seattle loss, would have put the Blazers ahead of the Sonics in the NW Division, but it didn't happen. The Blazers fell, and Seattle won a double-overtime game at Phoenix, 152-149. Too bad for the Sonics that their most impressive win of the season won't even sniff the sports news in Super Bowl-crazy Seattle.

The Trail Blazers are now six games through this eight-game homestand, and Wednesday night take on the Denver Nuggets at the Rose Garden. The homestand finishes up Friday with a game against New Jersey.

Tonight Mike Rice and I will be on the radio, with Courtside Monday Night (6pm on KXL-750 AM in Portland). Martell Webster is scheduled to join us. Bill Bayno, the Blazers scout who's in Fort Worth with Martell and Sergei Monia will be a guest. Also on the show will be Mike Kahn of foxsports.com, Golden State TV analyst Jim Barnett. Your comments are welcome, and e-mail is an easy way to get involved in the program. You can send your questions and comments to courtside@trailblazers.com. Talk to you tonight.

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Antonio Davis' Penalty Too Severe? No Way. (1.20.06)

The Trail Blazers are now 4 and 1 on this 8-game homestand, and one very nice thing about it is the fact that the games are spaced out nicely. It's given Nate McMillan a chance to have some practices at home, but more importantly, to give his team some rest. Thursday was one of those opportunities, as the Trail Blazers took the day off. They played, and beat, Toronto on Wednesday night, and don't play again until Sunday against Dallas. Portland will be going for its 5th straight win on Sunday. In case you're wondering, the Blazers haven't won five in a row in almost two years.

The Trail Blazers are actually very close to where they were one year ago following 38 games. With the veteran-clad team last season they were 15-23 at this point. Right now, they are 14-24. General manager John Nash, in defending the decision to cut loose a lot of the vets from last season, has said the team wasn't winning with them last season so why keep them all with the team and keep the payroll where it was? And, maybe it's just me, but this team is so much more enjoyable to watch. Not only are they on pace with last year's team, but they also now play the youngest rotation in the league, and the payroll is so much easier to deal with. It's all about tomorrow now, and last season it seemed it was all about yesterday.

The Mavericks are out on a 5-game road trip, and started it Wednesday night with an easy 103-76 win at Houston. They play the Clippers in L.A. tonight, and then head to Portland to get set for Sunday's game. The Mavericks are 29-10, and have won 11 of their last 14. They have designs on catching San Antonio in the Southwest Division, and realistically could do it. Dirk and the Digglers are not only up to their old scoring ways, but are playing great defense under Avery Johnson.

The story taking up a lot of time in the national sports news today was the suspension handed down by the NBA to New York's Antonio Davis. He got five games for going into the stands in Chicago on Wednesday night. Everyone I listened to seemed surprised by the length of the suspension, and I even heard it criticized a lot, called "too severe." I totally disagree. The league made it clear following last season's disgusting display in Detroit, that players don't go into the stands for any reason. End of story. Davis knew this before he made the decision to rush up to his wife. I heard people saying that he was being a man and just wanted to protect her from a bad situation. Please. Eyewitnesses in Chicago have said his wife was the one making it bad, and given her reputation, he could have been headed up there to protect himself from another embarrassing situation. Bad move. Now, serve your time. The league is right to be heavy handed in this case. It's probably true that if the Ron Artest situation hadn't happened last season this wouldn't have been that big a deal and Davis wouldn't have gotten five games. But, everyone knew following that brawl things changed forever that night. Davis obviously knows that as well. I was surprised his suspension isn't longer.

Speaking of Detroit (I'm sure most of you know this, but some of you possibly don't), the Rasheed Wallace technical-foul count is up to 10. He leads the league, once again, in this category. This year, however, things are different. In the new CBA the league wanted to crack down on repeat offenders and pushed through a rule that says a one-game suspension will be the result of any player reaching 16 total technicals on the season, a number Sheed is almost certain to reach. It gets more severe for each technical earned after that. Finally, these things have a cumulative penalty. For a player's first five technicals it's a $1,000 fine. Technicals six through nine carry a $1,500 fine. After 10 they're each worth $2,000. After 15, it's the one-game suspension that will result in a player losing 1/82nd of his salary (that's a lot more than $2,000 bucks for Wallace). You do the math, but it'll cost Sheed plenty if he stays on this pace. He's already out $12,500 and has said several times the money lost doesn't concern him. We'll see if sitting out a game or two, and possibly costing his team a win does. Wallace collected 27 technicals last season, a far cry from his league-record 41 he got as a Trail Blazer back in the 2000-01 season. Stay tuned on this one, and we'll continue to watch the figure rise. Both figures. NBA charities certainly have their fingers crossed.

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Viktor Steps Up in Ruben's Absence (1.19.06)

To continue with the current theme we've been talking about the past several days, the Trail Blazers once again found a way to win. And, last night, they didn't have Ruben Patterson and his energy to lead them down the homestretch. He's flat out bailed the team out in several wins with his strong fourth-quarter play this season, but he's been ill the last several days and wasn't at the arena for the game (for Ruben to not even be at the arena, you know he must have been feeling rough). The man who took Ruben's place on this night, was Viktor Khryapa, who played his best game of the season. The Trail Blazers beat the Toronto Raptors, who have been playing very well as of late, 96-94.

You think Toronto has had its fill the last two nights of Russians beating them? Tuesday night Andrei Kirilenko posted a triple-double on them in Utah, and last night it was Khryapa who did the heavy lifting for the Blazers. Khryapa put up 18 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, had 3 assists, 2 steals, and countless hustle plays down the stretch to secure the win.

Yes, the Trail Blazers lost all of a 17-point fourth-quarter lead in the game, couldn't put away the pesky Raptors, but the important thing is they got the win. To lose that big lead, fall behind by one in the final moments, and then come back to win actually showed me more than if they had won by 15. This is one of those games that early in the season the Trail Blazers probably don't win. It's called maturity, growth, and belief. Credit coach Nate McMillan for getting his message across. His preparation and in-game adjustments have been huge in this four-game winning steak, the longest winning streak of the season.

While we're handing out credit, let's throw a little Juan Dixon's way once again as well. Dixon became a starter on December 18th, 16 games ago, and has scored in double figures now in 16 straight games. Think that was a good move by Nate to move Dixon to the starting shooting guard spot? Dixon and Steve Blake once again played an efficient game as well. They combined for 14 assists and just 2 turnovers, continuing a very nice trend.

The Trail Blazers are now 4 and 1 on this 8-game homestand. A homestand that began with that bad loss to Miami, as you remember. Now, to make it five straight wins will take a huge effort on Sunday. The Blazers host the Dallas Mavericks, who pounded Houston last night.

By the way, Darius Miles was on the end of the Trail Blazers bench last night, in a suit, as his rehab continues from knee surgery. I've been at practice this week, and Miles has been slowly getting back involved. It'll be a while before he takes part in full-speed drills, but he has been doing some shooting, and is looking forward to getting back. He was high-fiving his teammates following the game last night and I spoke to him briefly in the hallway as the Blazers were heading into the locker room. He says his knee is feeling very good, and the infection he suffered following surgery is fading quickly. He is proud of what his teammates have been doing, and is just happy to be a part of things once again.

Also last night, Martell Webster and Sergei Monia made their debuts in the NBDL for the Fort Worth Flyers. The Flyers beat the Austin Toros, in Austin, 104-93. Webster scored 11 points in 19 minutes, and Monia scored 8 points in 17 minutes. Both players were 4 for 9 from the field.

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Toronto Can Put Up Points (1.18.06)

For as much as we always talk about the schedule, and how difficult it can be, this has been a very nice stretch for the Trail Blazers, following a very difficult set up in December. Not only are we in the middle of an 8-game homestand, but the last two opponents (including Toronto tonight) have had games the night before they play the Blazers at the Rose Garden. Portland has also gotten breaks with Orlando, who suspended Steve Francis right before the game here, and Cleveland, who was without Drew Gooden due to a hip injury.

Toronto last night played the Jazz in Utah, and lost 111-98. The Raptors may only be 13-25 on the season now, but have played much better as of late. Including last night's loss, they have still won 7 of their last 10 games and have been putting up huge numbers offensively. Scoring 98 at Utah is impressive, and they put 129 on New York, 121 on Orlando, and 104 in losses to New Jersey and Chicago. They've had this nice streak despite trade rumors circling about involving point guard Mike James, and Jalen Rose.

Chris Bosh will be one of the guys to watch tonight as the Raptors take on the Blazers. In his last six games Bosh has scored 27, 26, 29, 27, 23, and last night had 27 in the loss. Viktor Khryapa will likely get the assignment on Bosh to start the game. Toronto rookie Charlie Villanueva has cooled down since his hot start to open the season, but is still a handful coming off the bench. The Raptors suprised a lot of people when they selected Villanueva with the 7th pick in the draft last June, but he's proven that he should have been a top 10 pick, and has silenced alot of the critics who blasted Toronto for taking him so high.

I've talked about this several times this season, but the parity in the NBA continues to be on display. How in the world did Sacramento blast Phoenix last night 119-90? This is the same Kings team that was handled, on their home floor, by Portland right after Christmas. It's also the same Phoenix team beat Portland by 45. Even more recently, we've seen the Lakers lose at the Rose Garden, only to turn around and beat Miami, a team that had just beaten the Trail Blazers 118-89.

It's no secret the Supersonics have been struggling, and the Trail Blazers are closing on them quickly in the Northwest Division. The Sonics, who ran over the Blazers at the Rose Garden in mid December, are now just one game in the loss column ahead of Portland in the standings. The Sonics are 15-23, and the Blazers are 13-24. I'm already looking forward to the game coming up a week from Monday, when Nate McMillan returns home to play the Sonics at the Key.

Tonight many of us around the team will have one eye on the NBDL scoreboard, perhaps for the first time ever. Martell Webster and Sergei Monia will make their debuts for the Fort Worth Flyers, as they take on the Austin Toros, in Austin. The decision to send Webster and Monia to the minors continues to be a hot topic for Blazers fans, and I think everyone is interested in how they're going to fare.

Both players know we'll all be watching from Portland and the only danger is perhaps the players face is perhaps trying to do too much in the first couple of games in an effort to show everyone they belong in the NBA and not the NBDL. It'll be a unique experience for them both, and obviously, they hope it's a short stay in Fort Worth. Just so you know, the Blazers didn't just send those two down there by themselves. Bill Bayno, who is a Blazers scout and also coached the Summer League team in Las Vegas, is there with them, along with Darnell Valentine, the director of player programs. Player personnel director Kevin Pritchard will also be checking in on them in person. This is a first for the franchise, and obviously, for the players, and we'll see how this experiment works. I'm sure other NBA teams will be watching as well, being these are two of the higher profile guys to take a trip to the minor league.

Toinight's game against Toronto is radio only in the Portland area. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey, as always, will have the call on the Trail Blazers Radio Network. The broadcast begins at 6 o'clock with Game Day, hosted by Jay Allen. Mike Rice and I will return to the TV airwaves on Sunday when the Blazers host the Dallas Mavericks.

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Practice After Sunday's Win (1.17.06)

The Trail Blazers had a light practice day on Monday, following the win over Cleveland on Sunday night. The players hit the weight room, and then went through some offensive drills, and some shooting contests. The shooting contests are always spirited, and it's a good way to keep some competition and energy even on a light day. At the end of practice, as always, the team worked on free throw shooting.

I had a brief conversation with Joel Przybilla about his improved free throw shooting as of late, and he just talked about some minor changes that he's made. It's usually better to just concentrate on one thing, or maybe two, and that's what he's done. Joel told me he's simply concentrating on getting more arc on his shot, and it's helped him with his follow through and touch. It's really resulted in better success for him at the line. In his last six games he's 19 for 26 at the free throw line, and that's a big improvement for him. He's improved his average by about 6 percentage points over this stretch and he is hoping that continues.

Speaking of big men, Seung-Jin Ha is one player who didn't enjoy a light practice day on Monday. He was working with assistant coach Dean Dempolous and had a basket all to himself. They went through a series of rebounding exercises, and then followed that with a series of hard dunks, one after the other, from the low post. Ha was completely drenched from the hard workout, and then hit the free throw line.

After the team finished up the workout a nutritionist addressed the team on eating habits and importance of how they're fueling their bodies. The training staff, Jay Jensen and Geoff Clark, do a good job of pounding this into the players habits, but it never hurts to get it from a specialist. As you can imagine, it's a much bigger challenge for players to continue to eat right when we're on the road. The easiest and quickest way to get a meal when we're in a hotel isn't often times the best for you. I know from personal experience how tough this can be.

Nate McMillan got a rare opportunity on Monday to drive to Seattle to watch his son, Jamelle, play in high school game, and he took it. He left following practice. It's tough for him to have his family a few hours away, but wanted his son to get a chance to finish out high school before moving them to Portland. By the way, Jamelle's school, O'Dea, which is going for its third straight 3A state title, lost last night to Rainier Beach 46-41. Jamelle had 14 points in the loss. He's only a junior, but reportedly, North Carolina State, where Nate played, Washington, and Stanford, are all showing some interest in him.

The Trail Blazers return to the court on Wednesday night, when they take on the Toronto Raptors, who have won 7 of their last 9. The Raptors will be playing the second of a back-to-back, as they play at Utah tonight.

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Hard Work Is Rewarded (1.16.06)

The Trail Blazers have their second three-game winning streak of the season, and the win last night may have been one of the more impressive of the season. That's not because they beat the Cleveland Cavs, who currently have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, or that they shut LeBron James down in the second half, it's because they continue to find different ways to win. Against the Lakers and Magic it was with offense. Last night they won with their defense, and their attitude. They've responded to Nate McMillan following the 6-game losing streak, and they continue to make adjustments on the fly.

If someone would have said before the game last night the Trail Blazers would get just one field goal in the final nine minutes of the game, and would still win, you would have called them crazy. Before the game I was touting the fact that Steve Blake and Juan Dixon were a combined 32-46 shooting in their last two, and combined for 88 points. Last night they went a combined 8 for 22, and combined for 19 points. They won anyway. Zach Randolph went just 6 for 16, and they still won. They were outscored in the third and fourth quarters, and still won. LeBron scored 18 points in the first quarter, and they adjusted their game, and won in the end. Their offense was slowed to a crawl by Cleveland's zone defense in the fourth quarter, but they managed to find a way to win anyway.

Anyone can win when you shoot 54 percent from the field, and 67 percent from behind the three-point line, like they did against Orlando. But can you did deep and still beat a good team when you shoot 44 percent, go 3 for 9 from behind the arc, and miss a bunch of key free throws down the stretch? The Blazers did last night.

A week ago today we were trying to find ways to explain the troubling loss to the Miami Heat to begin this 8-game homestand. The team had its heart challenged by its head coach, and they've now won three in a row, and you get the feeling they've turned the corner, at least in the "belief" department. The look on McMillan's face following the game last night said it all. He smiled, hugged Ruben Patterson, and gave a small pump of the fist. It's nice to see hard work rewarded.

We told you before the game last night, the Trail Blazers have decided to send Martell Webster and Sergei Monia to the Developmental League for some seasoning. They're both flying out this morning for Fort Worth, Texas, and will play with the Flyers for an undetermined stint. It'll be a chance for them to get a lot of game experience, play against solid competition, and return better for it. I don't think either player is excited about it, obviously, but it shouldn't be looked at as punishment or banishment, and I don't expect them to be down there long.

Tonight on our Courtside Monday Night radio show (6pm on KXL-750 and kxl.com) general manager John Nash will join us and we'll talk about why that decision was made. You are welcome to send your thoughts and questions to courtside@blazers.com. You can weigh in on anything you like, and we'll do our best to address all of your questions.

The Trail Blazers have now played .500 ball in their last 12 games, and that's pretty impressive considering they had to deal with a 6-game losing streak in there. And, the atmosphere in the Rose Garden last night was exactly what we've come to expect. There were 19,383 fans at the game, and we saw once again why this is a special NBA city. Talk to you tonight on the radio.

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No Stevie Franchise in Portland Tonight (1.13.06)

You take the breaks when you get them, and today's announcement that Orlando has suspended Steve Francis is good news for the Trail Blazers. Tonight, when the Magic play at the Rose Garden they'll certainly be shorthanded. Not only will they not have Franchise, they won't have Keyon Dooling either, who got in that fight with Ray Allen on Wednesday night. Obviously, the Francis suspension means a lot more. Francis is the heart and sole of this Magic team, unfortunately for them, and it'll make life easier on Portland's backcourt not to have him in the lineup. He refused to go into the game against Seattle in the fourth quarter. Francis traveled to Portland, but then left the team yesterday when he learned of the suspension.

Like most situations like this, it's mixed with some bad news, and certainly with an unknown in this case. The player who's been playing extremely well is Jameer Nelson, who will get the start at point guard tonight for Orlando. Nelson had 32 points and 8 assists for the Magic in their loss in Seattle, and always seems to get up for games against the Trail Blazers. He evidently has found motivation in the fact that Portland selected Sebastian Telfair instead of him in the draft two years ago. Nelson led the Magic with 24 points in Orlando's win over Portland back in November. Steve Blake will get the assignment on Nelson, and even though it'll be a difficult matchup, Blake guarded Kobe for some of the game on Wednesday, so he'll be up for it. It's a different kind of cover for Blake, as Nelson is lightning quick and won't be looking to post up on Steve the way Kobe did.

The Trail Blazers will be guarding against a let down tonight. So much was made of Wednesday's game against the Lakers because it was following the bad performance against Miami. Nate McMillan is obviously aware of this danger and addressed it with the team yesterday at practice. You're only as good as you're next game, and the Laker win is now in the rear-view mirror.

The Lakers, by the way, got a very nice win over Cleveland in L.A. last night. The game was on TNT and several times during the broadcast I heard Marv Albert talk about the Lakers' "poor performance in Portland last night." This is a little thing, but it's frustrating to hear because it isn't accurate at all. The Lakers shot 48 percent against Portland (the starters shot 52 percent), got 41 from Kobe, 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists from Lamar Odom, and recorded 19 assists and only 10 turnovers. They outscored Portland in the paint 54 to 46, and led in fast-break points 18 to 1. That's a poor performance? The Lakers played well; Portland just outplayed them and won the game. The Lakers didn't lose it, and didn't have an off night. When you've been struggling the perception is someone else had to play bad in order for you to win. This may be the case on some nights, but it wasn't the case at all in Wednesday's game and anyone who watched the game could have told you that.

So, what do NBA players, like Joel Przybilla, do with a night off from playing during a homestand? Go to dinner at a fancy restaurant? Hit the downtown clubs? Hang with friends? No. Joel spent last night with his wife Noelle at their first birthing class at the hospital. Noelle is due with their first child, a boy, in February, and birthing classes are very helpful. What did Joel do on Tuesday night, another off night? He stayed up late, with a screwdriver and pliers, putting together a crib and a dresser by himself. Noelle was probably clipping coupons for "Babies R Us" in the next room. Joel said he struggled putting the stuff together but eventually got it done. He's not exactly Bob Vila but it's nice to hear the effort is there.

It's babyville right now around the team. During games the family room at the Rose Garden is filled. Zach Randolph was in the hallway with his baby girl following Wednesday's game, Sebastian had his baby daughter (who has her days and nights mixed up right now), and Viktor Khryapa had his baby boy, Vladimir. Noelle Przybilla is very pregnant, and, of course, I had my 7-month-old boy Jack. Jack spent much of Wednesday's game sitting with John Outlaw, Travis' brother, who's trying to steal him from us. Jack fell asleep with two minutes to go during the game against the Lakers, I guess confidant the team would hold on. And, even though I can't get into details, I can tell you I may have news sometime soon of another expectant mother.

Speaking of Jack, there was another first around the house today. Even though he just turned 7 months, he already loves remote controls for some reason. Normally he just chews and slobbers on them, but today he managed to turn the TV on. I would say he was just trying to see Dad, but my wife then explained to him that I'm actually in town. I missed the big event though today, because I was beating up on my TV partner Mike Rice on the tennis court (indoors, of course). See what you'd miss if you didn't check the blog on a daily basis?

Speaking of TV, Trail Blazers fans are still out there in full force, and we got proof of that today. Our ratings for Wednesday night's broadcast came in and we set a new high for the season. Our rating was over a 10 on KGW, which is huge, and as always, won our time slot. A few weeks ago, during a game on Fox Sports Net, we broke our team record for a cable game. This kind of stuff is great to hear, especially when the record isn't where the team wants it. We've got great fans, as you already know.

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"Well, that's more like it, huh?" (1.12.06)

Well, that answered a lot of questions. While driving out of the garage at the Rose Garden last night, I saw coach Nate McMillan walking out and stopped and lowered my passenger's side window. He stuck his head in, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "well, that's more like it, huh?" We just talked for a moment, and he just basically said he was very proud of his guys for stepping up in a tough situation, and bouncing back following the challenge he gave them at practice Tuesday, and before the game last night. They really needed this win, and got it with the nation's eyes upon them, 113-103.

Of course, most people around the country were watching to see just how many points Kobe would score on the Trail Blazers. They instead saw a Trail Blazer defense "hold him" to 41. That sounds a little funny to say, but he had recently run right through Memphis, Philly, the Clippers, and Indiana, for 45, 48, 50, and 45, respectively. Kobe was on track to break the 45-point mark again tonight, but was held to just five points in the third quarter, when the Blazers outscored L.A. 30 to 31. Bryant ended up with 41 last night, on 13 of 29 shooting, and was made to work for everything he got down the stretch.

We wondered before the game who Nate would put on Kobe to start the game. I don't think anyone thought it would be Steve Blake with the responsibility. But, Blake came up with his best night offensively, and defensively, of the season. Blake did a good job of denying Kobe the ball, wasn't beaten on the low block by Kobe like many expected, and ended up with 19 points, on 7 of 10 shooting, dished out 9 assists, and didn't turn the ball over once. Blake's teammate from his college days at Maryland, Juan Dixon, totally carried the Blazers in the first half, hit big shots in the second half, and had 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting, and handed out 6 assists. They were brilliant, combining for 17 of 26 shooting, 4 of 7 from three, dished out 15 assists and committed only 2 turnovers.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson made a good point in his post-game comments. He said Kobe really had to expend a lot of energy chasing Dixon around the court, and that wore him down. He also talked about Ruben Patterson, and how his energy made things difficult for the Lakers. Ruben had 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

It also should be pointed out the impact Theo Ratliff and Joel Przybilla had on this game. Their numbers weren't sterling, but their presence in the paint kept Kobe from dominating around the hoop. Late in the game Kobe settled for a lot of outside shots, basically because he didn't want to face the shot blockers inside. Bryant was just 3 for 13 from three-point range.

The Trail Blazers showed once again, that if they bring the effort, and play as a team, they can beat a lot of teams. One of the last things Nate told me in the garage after the game, was that it was another learning experience. His team showed him what it's capable of, and he's not going to settle for anything less than this kind of effort every night. They'll have to follow this win up with a good performance against Orlando Friday, or they'll hear from him again.

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Will Kobe Be the MVP? (1.11.06)

I've been sitting here preparing for the game tonight between the Lakers and Blazers. Yes, most of my time was spent researching what Kobe Bryant has been doing, and how that relates to the all-time record books. Let me get this stuff out of the way right off the top.

Kobe has a streak going of four straight games of 45 points or more. The NBA record for most consecutive games of 45 points or more is by Wilt Chamberlain, who did it nine straight times in 1962. Kobe now has two games of 50 points or more this season. The Lakers are 6-1 all time when Kobe goes for 50. He has 10 games already this season of 40 points or more. The Lakers are 35-15 all time when Kobe goes for 40 or more. The Lakers franchise record for most games of 40 points or more is 23, by Elgin Baylor in 1963. Kobe has 10 already this season. And, finally, the Lakers franchise record for most points scored against the Blazers is 49, by Gail Goodrich in 1973. Okay, now you have some of my notes going into the game tonight (I usually use only about 10 percent of what I actually come up with, but tonight could be different).

Does all of this make Kobe the best player right now in the NBA? That's certainly debatable, but at this point how can you argue too much against that? He's at the very least the best offensive player in the game. The Lakers are just 18 and 16 on the season, but keep in mind they are the 6th youngest team in the league. The games they've won have just about all been due to Kobe. Doesn't that make him the Most Valuable Player? Take Kobe away from this team and how many games do you think they'd win? The biggest potential knock against him this season will be if the Lakers don't make the playoffs. The MVP almost always comes from a winning team, and a playoff team. I still think what he's shown so far this season has him the front-runner for the award. Say what you want, there is no one more explosive, no one more able to single-handedly win a game, and no one you'd want taking the final shot in crunch time more than Kobe.

As I told you yesterday, the Trail Blazers took Monday off, and returned to the practice floor yesterday. It was an intense practice, and Nate McMillan appeared upbeat following the long workout. I asked several of the players following practice yesterday how things went, and they all said it was hard, but good, practice. They knew what to expect following Sunday's showing against Miami.

After practice, the broadcasting, creative, and game operations people had a chance to get with all the players to gather interviews and sound bites that will be used in upcoming commercials, features, and in-game promotions. We usually have two of these days during the season, one before the season, and one other day, today. I held interviews with all the players and the stuff gathered will be used in all of the stuff I mentioned above. I asked them many questions, and asked the same questions to every player. I thought it was interesting when I asked the question "what's the toughest part of being an NBA player?" All the players, including coach McMillan, said it was the travel. I, of course, travel with the team, and wasn't surprised to hear that answer. People simply don't understand how tough it is to grind through 41 road games. I know, I know, we've got our own plane, stay in great hotels, and spend our working hours courtside at NBA games. But, you're still away from your family, and the downtime is spent trying to catch up on sleep, working, practicing, and trying to figure out what time zone you're in. I wouldn't trade this job for any in the world, and everyone agrees on that, but the travel is certainly a challenge, and is the thing that wears you down and tries your patience. I talk to all of my broadcasting peers from other teams before games in the arenas, and most of the conversations begin and end with same topic. Travel. Where they have been, what's ahead, the weather, and what troubles they've had getting to and from on a particular road trip.

On a side note, last night I had a chance to finally go to the mall with my wife to return some Christmas gifts. The first person I saw at Washington Square was Seung-Jin Ha, who was with a girl who is his friend (not sure if it's a girlfriend, so I'll leave it term it a "female friend." None of my business anyway). He came over like I hadn't seen him in 5 years, and I'd just talked to him hours earlier. He's such a great guy. One of the highlights of returning to Portland following long trips, and I speak for everyone, is watching the 7' 3" Ha climb into this friend's car. She drives a VW Beetle. He folds up like a lawn chair. I'll leave you with that image.

Tonight, we'll have the Blazers and Lakers on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and the Trail Blazers Television Network, starting with the pre-game show at 6:30. As always, Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have the game on KXL-750 AM in Portland, and the Blazers Radio Network, beginning at 6 pm with Game Day, hosted by Jay Allen. See you tonight.

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Can the Trail Blazers Slow Down the Scoring Machine: Kobe Bryant? (1.10.06)

As if his week hasn't been big enough, Kobe Bryant added to it last night. He scored 45 points as the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in L.A. This run he's on has been incredible, and he's now averaging over 42 points in his last eight games. He's had at least 45 points in three straight games. It's the first time an NBA player has done that since Wilt Chamberlain did it in the fall of 1964. Stopping just one offensive player sounds easy enough, but no matter what opposing defenses have thrown at Bryant in the past couple of weeks, it hasn't even slowed him down.

Obviously, the reason I bring this up today is that the Trail Blazers are next on Kobe's list. The Lakers fly to town today, and tomorrow night play the Blazers at the Rose Garden. The question isn't will Kobe have a big scoring night, it's how big is it going to be? Also understand, just because he does have a huge night it doesn't guarantee a win for L.A. They have been hovering around the .500 mark all season, and last night's win put them just two games over.

The Blazers took the day off Monday, for the most part, but return to the practice floor today. It should be an inspiring, hard practice. Listening to Nate McMillan's comments following the loss to Miami on Sunday, you know it won't be an easy day for the Blazers. But, I have a feeling, despite what you may think, Kobe won't be the topic tomorrow. Nate is more worried about his own team, and is less worried about the opponent, even if it is Kobe.

Last night on our Courtside Monday Night radio show, Nate's lead assistant Dean Demopolous was one of our guests. He talked about the disappointment of Sunday's loss, and the focus will be on the defensive end, starting Wednesday night. No one was happy with the defense against Miami, and no one liked to see Dwyane Wade fly to the rim for six highlight dunks in the game. Kobe has to be licking his chops. Expect a much better effort, and much tougher Portland defense against the Lakers tomorrow night.

We talked on the show about Portland's youth, and inability to sustain any positive momentum in games recently. Young teams tend to be more comfortable playing from behind and adjusting to whatever the opponent throws at them. During this losing streak, the Blazers have gotten behind early, and even though they've made some solid runs, have never really been able to get over the hump. They will not be able to play from behind and live to tell about it Wednesday night.

I'll be at practice today and in tomorrow's blog will have more on what the Trail Blazers' game plan will be against the Lakers.

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Wade and Williams Set The Pace for the Heat (1.9.06)

From time to time I talk about having a feeling about a particular game before it is played. This isn't scientific, and I'm certainly no fortuneteller, but this one didn't feel good from the time I woke up Sunday morning. Flying home from Oklahoma City late Friday night, we watched as the Phoenix Suns pounded on the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade and Jason Willams were in street clothes, watching as their team was dismantled for the second straight game. You knew two things at that moment- they were both going to play in Portland, and the team was going to look at that game as a must win. They had started the 7-game road trip, their longest of the season, with two embarrassing losses.

If you want to throw in another factor, the Trail Blazers were playing the first game of an 8-game homestand, following a 3-game road trip. The old cliché' that "the toughest game on a road trip is the first game you play back home" is so true, and we see it proven all the time in the NBA. This is especially true of young teams. A let down is inevitable. The combination of all of these things was on display at the Rose Garden on Sunday night.

Wade and Williams, fresh from sitting out Friday, and hell bent on getting their team shaken out of their slump, were incredible in the early going for Miami. They set the tone, and that was defense and running. Wade scored 16 points in the first quarter, and Williams couldn't miss. To the Trail Blazers credit they hung tough in the first half. But, the Heat were just too good, too strong, and too fast on this night. They ended up beating the Blazers 118-89. Wade and Williams combined for 51 points, on 21 for 28 shooting, 15 assists, 6 steals, and only 4 turnovers. They did to Portland what Phoenix had done to them on Friday.

What made this tougher to take is that a crowd of 18,032 witnessed it at the Rose Garden. The fans wanted to get into the game, and were waiting for a reason to stand and cheer, and this veteran Miami team just didn't let it happen.

The Trail Blazers have dominated this all-time series, and always seem to play well against Miami. This was only the 10th time Miami has beaten Portland in their franchise history. It was just the 6th win ever for Miami in Portland. And, yes, it was the worst loss the Heat have ever given the Blazers in Portland. The previous largest margin of victory for the Heat in Portland had been 11 points. The Heat led by 13 at halftime in this one.

It was one of those bounce back games for Miami, and now the Trail Blazers have the opportunity for one of those Wednesday. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are coming to town, and it's not like this game ruined the homestand. There are seven games left, starting with Wednesday night's.

Tonight on the radio, Mike Rice and I will have Courtside Monday Night at 6 pm on KXL-AM 750 in the Portland area. Be sure to join us, and then join us at the Rose Garden on Wednesday. I feel better about that game already.

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Oklahoma City: Tennis, A Crowd, and yes... County Music (1.6.06)

It's the final day of this 5-day road trip, and tonight in concludes with the Trail Blazers taking on the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets at the Ford Center. We'll fly home following this game tonight, and will get to actually unpack and put the suitcase in the closet for a few weeks. Sunday, the Blazers begin their longest homestand of the season, eight games, against Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat.

The Trail Blazers practiced yesterday, and had to drive to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, to do it. It was only about a 30-minute drive and wasn't too far out of the way. It was a fairly light practice, as Nate McMillan most likely sensed the veterans didn't have it in them to pound through a long, physical practice after playing back-to-back nights in Dallas and San Antonio. Following practice McMillan took the team out to dinner, which is fairly rare. They went to Toby Keith's restaurant here in Oklahoma City. I talked to several players in the lobby upon their return and a couple of them said it was great, "until they started playing country music." Wow, what a shock. I was upset that at B.B. King's in Memphis they didn't play any Metallica. The guys did say they had a good time.

I'm looking forward to seeing the atmosphere at the Ford Center tonight for this game. The community has really embraced this Hornets franchise and they've been drawing very, very well. Everyone here, of course, is hoping for a permanent move for the franchise, but that battle is far from over. The local paper has certainly joined the fight. Following Hornets games, they list the attendance, and then compare it to what the team drew last season, and how the home court results compare. It's obviously a better situation here. It'll be a delicate political move for the NBA if they move this team out of ailing New Orleans, but it's business, and this team never drew flies in New Orleans. Now, post hurricane, I can't imagine the fans would flock back, being they were never there in the first place. The corporate dollars aren't there either. They did announce yesterday the Hornets will return to New Orleans Arena for three games in early March. That's a good move, but I'd be surprised if they moved back there permanently next season. It's a tough situation, and could be a legal battle getting out of the lease at the arena in New Orleans if it is deemed to be inhabitable, which they think it will be.

I mentioned yesterday that we were going to get out and see a little bit of Oklahoma City. The only thing I really knew about the city, and I'm probably not alone here, was that horrible bombing back in 1995 took place here. Turns out the Murrah Federal Building stood only a few blocks from our hotel. We walked over there yesterday and saw the memorial and museum they now have. It's very well done. They've got a reflecting pool, where the street once went through, and a "field of empty chairs" where the building once stood. They've got 168 chairs placed in nine rows to symbolize each person lost in the attack. The hardest thing was seeing the 19 little chairs representing the absence of 19 children.

Rice and I did get a chance to play tennis yesterday, and did so at Oklahoma City University. Among Rice's excuses on this day were "it was too windy," and "the sun was in my eyes." Judging by the condition of the courts the tennis program at the college has really gone downhill since Brock Connelly won the 1994 NAIA Singles title (I saw an old wooden plaque hanging sideways on the fence).

In NBA news, the Ron Artest sweepstakes continues. I continue to get a kick out of NBA general managers who offer trades to the Indiana Pacers, and then after they become public, have to scramble back to the players rumored to be in the deal, and assure them they aren't on the block. I guess Denver now has the best chance at Artest right now, but Memphis and Minnesota are also taking a shot. It certainly sounds to me like Artest is headed to the Western Conference. I haven't heard much that makes sense coming from the East.

Seattle players continue to celebrate their new head coach, Bob Hill. This is so interesting to me, since it was the players who went to bat so hard for Bob Weiss after Nate left for Portland. Vladimir Radmanovic even said "it's a new start, and it's like Santa Claus for me." I still remember after Weiss was hired, the players talking about how things were too tough under Nate, and that Weiss was more of a player's coach. You tell me, what style do you think worked better? The lesson here is never let the players choose your head coach.

Congratulations to Shaun Alexander of the Seahawks, by the way, for winning the AP's NFL MVP award. I wasn't aware writers in the East knew there was a team in Seattle.

We get to come home following this game tonight, and Sunday, the Blazers open an 8-game homestand against Miami.

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We Knew There Would Be Some Nights Like Last Night (1.5.06)

Thankfully, there haven't been many nights like that this season. We expected that there would be at least a few, but lately there sure haven't been. We were just boasting on the air the other night how the Trail Blazers have been in every single game as of late, and even for an 8-game stretch had a chance to win inside the final couple of minutes. That wasn't the case last night. School was in session, as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Blazers 106-75. School is about learning, among other things, so let's hope something positive comes out of the loss.

I compare last night's loss to the loss earlier in the season at Philadelphia. It was a game the Blazers were not necessarily getting blown out in until the very end. I know that loss didn't sit well with Nate McMillan and I suspect today's practice won't be a picnic. He never likes when the team gives up in the final minutes, not that this was the case last night, but it did get ugly. The Spurs outscored Portland 28 to 11 in the 4th quarter, and blew the game wide open. The young guys were given a chance in the last quarter and the experienced Spurs picked them apart. It was especially concerning at the defensive end. Also, San Antonio ended up outrebounding the Blazers 57 to 30, and the Spurs aren't necessarily a good rebounding team.

It was a rough night, to put it mildly, for Zach Randolph. He has a bad cold and wasn't feeling well. That certainly doesn't account for his 1 for 14 shooting and 4 rebounds. As Nate told me in the TV pre-game show, he has decided to not avoid giving Zach the tough matchups against some of the great power forwards in the Western Conference. He guarded Dirk Nowitzki at Dallas on Tuesday, and then got Tim Duncan last night. That means he expends a lot of energy at the defensive end, and it going to have to find a way to deal with that at the offensive end. Both Nowitzki and Duncan are a lot bigger than Zach and he's just had trouble getting his shot off.

We arrived in Oklahoma City late last night. We did get to watch the 4th quarter of the Rose Bowl last night on the plane. This city is a new experience for all of us. After traveling for years around the NBA, you get to know the hotels, the area, where you like to eat, and where you like to walk. We don't know anything about this city. I can only imagine how tough it has been for the Hornets, who had to move from New Orleans following the hurricane. Their entire staff was displaced, and have not only had to continue doing their jobs, but have had to deal with the tragedy of what the storm left back home. The one positive about the move is how the city of Oklahoma City has embraced this team. They've got a great arena here, the Ford Center, and the fans have come from all over to pack this place for the home games. They are hoping for a permanent move, but that'll be decided later.

When we looked at the schedule before this trip, obviously, we looked at tomorrow night's game against the Hornets as being the best chance for the Blazers to get a win. Well, the Hornets are playing very well and hammered the Miami Heat last night. This won't be easy, once again, tomorrow night. The Blazers then return home to take on that Miami team in Portland. That game will kick off an 8-game homestand. I'll preview tomorrow night's game against the Hornets more in tomorrow's blog. I'm off to practice, and then perhaps will check out Oklahoma City. Have a great day.

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Trail Blazers Play Tough in Loss (1.4.06)

Greetings from San Antonio. You're likely slumbering away as I'm writing this, because we just got into our hotel following the flight from Dallas. Back to back games are always tough, but at least in this case it wasn't a long flight. Still, when we're on the road we always get into cities very late, or very early, depending on how you look at it. Keeping regular hours just isn't possible, at least for people like me who can't just walk into a room, drop your stuff and hop into bed. We always eat dinner on the flight, and I don't think most of us get to sleep until 2 or 3 am.

The game tonight was another example of coming close against a quality team. The Trail Blazers battled hard, had Dallas' lead cut to 3 in the fourth quarter, but ended up falling 95-81. If you watched the game, or listened to it, you know it was closer than the final score indicates. It's extremely tough to play from behind in the fourth quarter, and this team continues to do that. The Mavericks got hot midway through the 4th and put the game away.

I thought the key moment in this game was with 9:44 left following Ruben Patterson's steal and dunk which cut the lead to 3. Ruben was fouled hard from behind by Jerry Stackhouse, a play that could have seen a flagrant foul called. Ruben landed, looked down at Stackhouse, and was called for a technical foul. I'm still trying to figure out why, and believe me, so is Ruben. Nate McMillan was furious and we replayed it several times and still couldn't figure out why a technical was necessary. The Trail Blazers had stolen momentum and were making a strong charge and the technical foul changed the entire feel on the floor. When you're mounting a comeback you need most everything to go your way in order to stay on a roll and keep the opposing team on its heels. The technical changed all of that. Again, you can't blame the loss on it, but it seemed to stop Portland's momentum.

Patterson was fantastic off the bench again tonight. He scored 19 points on 6 of 13 shooting, and played 24 minutes. Zach Randolph also had a strong game with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He grabbed 7 offensive rebounds and that's where he does a lot of his damage when he's playing well. Keep in mind he had a much bigger Dirk Nowitzki on him most of the night and was expending a lot of energy guarding Dirk at the other end. It'll be much the same against the Spurs in the game tonight. Zach will likely be matched up against Tim Duncan.

We've had a lot of pictures on TV lately that haven't been for the squeamish. We had Damon Stoudamire's knee cap shown out of place following his injury, Mike Miller's ankle rolling badly on a couple of replays, and tonight showed Viktor Khryapa's index finger on his right hand dislocated tonight. Viktor dislocated the finger slapping down on the ball. He had a shocked and frightened look on his face as he ran to the bench with his finger pointing the wrong direction. Portland trainer Jay Jensen pulled, and pulled, and pulled on the finger trying to get it back in place. Viktor was taken to the locker room where the Mavericks team doctor tried to assist. He eventually gave up and they finally had to inject the knuckle twice with a needle to get it to relax enough to be able to be replaced. They finally got it back in and he was able to return in the second half. I expect him to start again tonight against the Spurs.

San Antonio has won 5 of its last 6 games and is well rested following a New Year's Eve win at Denver. They've been starting Michael Finley at the shooting guard spot, but Manu Ginobili is getting healthier and will play. The Spurs are now 24-7, and are 14 and 1 at home. Needless to say, it'll take a huge effort by the young Blazers to pull one out at the SBC Center tonight.

We'll have the game once again on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and Wheels and Antonio will have it on the Blazers Radio Network.

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19 Year Old Hecklers in Dallas? (1.3.06)

Greetings from Dallas, where tonight the 3-game road trip gets underway with a game against the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center (not to be confused with American Airlines Arena, which is in Miami). As I mentioned yesterday, this is not going to be an easy trip. The Trail Blazers have won two in a row on the road, but in order for that to continue they're going to have to beat one of the best teams in the league, in Dallas. Following the game tonight, we'll take a short flight south to San Antonio, and on Wednesday night take on the defending champs. The road trip comes to a close on Friday night in Oklahoma City (if it's still there), and the Blazers take on the Hornets.

We arrived this afternoon at about 1:30 CT. The team checked into the hotel and left a short time later for practice at the arena. The weather is great here right now, and temperatures were in the 70s today under sunny skies. Yes, Rice and I played tennis, but he told me I couldn't talk about the results in my blog (draw your own conclusion here). TV producer Scott Zachry and I walked to get dinner at some Mexican joint around sundown, and on the way back were heckled loudly by a large shirtless man leaning over a railing. I knew who it was before I looked up. It was Martell Webster, who was on the patio of his 5th floor hotel room. I yelled "do your homework and get to bed, or you're grounded," and he yelled back "man, this hotel is nice!" A round of jumping on the bed probably followed the exchange. I forget sometimes he's 19 and was in high school at this time last year. I love the fact that he's not too cool, and lets everyone know from time to time he's still in awe of where he's made it. At 19 I would have probably been throwing oranges and stuff at cars from my hotel deck. Luckily, Martell is a little more mature than that and keeps it to simple stuff, like hollering at the team's announcers.

The team had a good practice and went over the game plan for the Mavericks. Portland currently has a 4-game losing streak here, and has lost 6 in a row overall to the Mavericks. That, by the way, is the longest winning streak over Portland in the history of this Dallas franchise. The Trail Blazers still lead the all-time series 65-42, and have won 24 of the 54 games played in Dallas in the history of this series. Most of those wins came at the old Reunion Arena, which is still standing, by the way, on the other side of downtown.

The Mavericks haven't yet played a game in 2006, but are coming off a very strong month. They went 12 and 4 in December, which is the best December in their history. I think it's pretty amazing what they've done, considering most people around the league figured they would crumble and die after Steve Nash left. They are still fighting to shake the tag of a solid regular-season team that can't handle the pressure of a run deep into the playoffs. When most of the national experts were previewing the season, it seems like Dallas was almost forgotten. At 22-8, clearly, they are a player. The most impressive stat I could dig up on them this season, is that they're 14 and 3 this season against teams that qualified for the 2005 playoffs. They are also almost unbeatable when they shoot 50 percent or better. They're 7 and 0 this season when that happens, and were 22 and 0 last season when they made half their shots or better.

I joined Jay Allen and Bob Akamian on Courtside Monday Night last night. I correctly guessed what the first question to me would be, and you probably can guess it as well. It's what everyone has been asking lately. Will Steve Blake still be the starting point guard when Sebastian Telfair returns to the active roster? It's a good question and I can only guess, and echo what Nate McMillan has been saying. He doesn't know. It depends. Both players are saying the right things and both will have to deal with whatever their coach decides. It won't be a problem. I think Blake will continue to start, at least in the three games on this trip. If Portland happens to win one of them, or does even better than that, Blake stays. If they drop all three, and the losing streak reaches five, I wouldn't be suprised to see Telfair the starter once again when the team's 8-game homestand begins. That's just my opinion. It's one thing if you're playing well and winning, but the door will be open for a change if they lose. The more pressing question, I believe, is what happens to Jarrett Jack's minutes when Sebastian comes back? Jack has been very solid, and has been getting a lot of time during the 4th quarter- more than Blake in fact. Someone's minutes will take a hit that's for sure.

We'll have tonight's game on KGW-8 in the Portland area, and on the Trail Blazers Television Network. The pre-game show starts at 5 o'clock. Wheels and Antonio will have it on radio, KXL-750 AM in the Portland area, and along the radio network. I'll talk to you again tomorrow, from San Antonio.

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